NightLight
by sunkissedvampire
Summary: Ember Willows knows all there is to know about life; it sucks. But that all changes when she is hit by a car and thrust into a situation she has no clue how to fix. Now she sees there is more to EVERYTHING than meets the eye.
1. Epilogue

Do you ever get that feeling? You know, the one where you know something's not right or just completely unfair? Well, I was getting that feelings right then, and I think I had every right too.

Laying on the ground and practically drowning in a pull of my own blood with the Matrix of Leadership running straight through my chest (the thing was the size of a fucking base ball bat!) and pinning me to a mech long since dead, one could say I was pissed. I was dying after spending 23 loooooooooong years on this Earth and the only thing interesting that had ever happened to me was meeting the Autobots and losing my virginity, and not in that exact order. Call me selfish but who wouldn't be annoyed by that?

'Ember Willows, you should have kept your mouth shut!' I thought while gazing up at the colorful blobs moving above me. I heard loud voices screaming my name, asking me to come back, like I could just hang a U-y and avoid the land of the dead all together. I knew it was Ratchet who was crouched over me, the medic was probably trying to find some way to save me, and I couldn't help the smirk that pulled at the corner of my lips, I was gonna miss his attitude.

"Don't bother," I choked out, I could feel my lungs filling with blood.

"Hush." I think it was Ratchet, I'm not sure.

My body was growing cold.

Someone was crying.

I felt a hand on my face; someone was trying to look into my eyes.

I wanted to tell them it was ok, that I was just really annoyed and that I would see them later but a strange darkness grew in my vision.

Wait, I don't want to go…


	2. I don't give a damn

**A/N: Edited :)**

Somewhere in the world, an alarm clock burst to life, spewing out the latest rock music at an unbearable level and waking one foul mouthed human. Sheets flew into the air, landed on the floor, and were trampled by the occupant of the bed. With red hair askew and eyeliner smeared down her face she looked like a Zombie. Groaning, which only caused her to appear more like the walking dead; she dragged herself out of bed and pulled on a sweater to block out the chill of the morning.

Light streamed in through half open blinds, illuminating her room and giving it a surreal quality. Clothes, shoes, and bags spilled out of an open closet, covering the hardwood floor. The mess traveled across the ground and reached all the way to a desk chair set up next to the disheveled bed. Papers filled with writing and doodles were strewn about her small desk in a haphazard manner and her dresser was covered with all sorts of junk that could typically be found in a woman's room.

She took a few seconds to admire her masterpiece before making her way out into the small kitchen. Moving about as if routine, she opened the fridge to reveal nothing but a few plastic tubs of leftover spaghetti and a half filled bottle of milk. The light flickered despairingly.

Thoroughly depressed she slammed the door shut and ignored the appliance as it wobbled dangerously. Instead she shoved a few pieces of bread into a greasy toaster and waited impatiently for a meal that only slightly resembled breakfast.

Ember Willows was a college student struggling to live in a small apartment that was also occupied by her two best friends. Together they paid the bills and attempted to clean the home during sporadic fits of boredom. She was studying to become a writer, hoping to compose novels for children, but one wouldn't have guessed that by listening to the way she talked. With her crude language and blunt insults she could probably put a sailor to shame.

Three states away her family inhabited a two story gray house on a hill surrounded by a picketed fence and farmland. She only ever got to see them on the holidays but she called almost every day and kept all their pictures up on the fridge with little handmade magnets she had bought from an art festival a few years ago.

She shivered and bitterly took a bite out of her toast while glancing over at a rusted old thermostat curiously; 65 degrees. She cursed and stomped back towards her room, banging on the only other bedroom door as she passed by.

"It's time to get your asses in gear!" she shouted. She shoved the rest of the toast into her mouth and stumbled about her room, tripping over piles of dirty clothes, looking for something decent to wear. Satisfied with a pair of skinny jeans and a black t-shirt she pulled the sweater back over her head and moved into the bathroom where she brushed her teeth and reapplied her make-up.

With the usual morning necessities completed she ran back to her room, running into a disgruntled Taylor. She was just as tall as Ember with blond hair and brown eyes framed by a friendly face that was, at the moment, not looking so friendly. Ember heard her mutter something along the lines of death and despair before she lifted her purse off of her desk chair and rushed for the front door.

"I'll see you guys later, I've got errands to run!" she called over her shoulder before stepping out into the frigid air. Coming from the far south, Ember wasn't used to the cold, so unlike most of the locals who were walking around in long sleeved shirts, she had her trusty sweater on, a scarf, and a black knit cap that came down to her eyebrows.

Glancing down the breezeway of her apartment she locked the door before pulling her bike out from under the stairwell. Quietly and somewhat miserably she counted off all her sacrifices to live away from her parents and on her own; _'I do not have heat, I starve myself every other week until payday, I ride my bike instead of driving my perfectly good (Gas Guzzling) car, I take ten minute showers, I have yet to eat at a restaurant, and last but not least, I put up with my two best friends who happen to be idiots.' _Feeling like a whiny Cinderella, she squeezed the handlebars of her bike and shut her eyes, eyebrows scrunched together as she tried to rein in her annoyance and self-pity.

Deep breath.

Sigh.

She opened her eyes and threw a leg over her bike and pushed off from the ground. It wasn't like she was about to lose her home or anything, but still, one couldn't help but feel frustrated by their situation.

Mentally, Ember went over her list of chores today. She knew she had to buy food, otherwise they would seriously starve and no one would bother to come looking for them because they were all lazy good for nothings anyways. She also had to pay the bills and pick up Taylor's birthday cake. It was days like these she was thankful for the huge basket she had made Cody put on the back of her bike for her.

The sky, slightly cloudy but still with plenty of blue visible, went practically unnoticed by Ember and the rest of the inhabitants of the city. Everyone was so busy and intent on getting where they were going that they forgot to stop and examine their surroundings; it was a typical human flaw.

Glancing down at the ground, Ember marveled at the fact that it was soaking wet when she honestly didn't remember it raining. But then again, she had worked her ass off and hadn't gotten home till 10:30 and fallen asleep the second her head hit the pillow. She vaguely wondered if she had had any homework last night to finish. Shrugging she continued to ride down the sidewalk and down the street towards city hall; bills first, food later.

"Stretching it a bit aren't we?" Bill asked. He was one of the few people that were actually kind to Ember when she came in to drop off the water bill and such even though Ember had laughed at him the first time he had introduced himself. His name was Bill and people paid their bills…yeah anyways. Terrible pun aside, Ember still had to pay her bills.

"You have no idea; I don't know how much longer I can keep up." Ember sighed and absently snatched a lollipop from the basket on his desk. People scurried about in the grey tiled room, the sound of quiet talking and office phones seeped out from a doorway that led back into the building. She sniffed the stuffy air warily, feeling out of place in the bland office.

"Don't worry, you're young. I'm sure you'll pull though." Bill straitened a stack of papers while Ember peeled the plastic from the sugary treat.

"Yup, what did that old guy from the Chocolate Factory say? 'More money is printed everyday' or something like that…" she sighed and stuck the candy in her mouth. Bill chuckled as she pouted and Ember shot him a playful glare before pushing away from the desk she had been leaning on. "Well, I gotta head out, I got stuff to do."

"Be careful," he warned as she turned her back to him and headed for the door. "The governments doing some crazy stuff these days."

Ember chuckled and waved goodbye before stepping back out into the cold. _'He probably thinks all that mission city alien mumbo jumbo is true,'_ she thought dryly. She dragged her bike from behind a set of bushes and walked it down the sidewalk to the crosswalk where she waited for the light to change. She watched as cars passed by, their engines chugging away almost happily. Bitter thoughts slithered into her mind.

"Hey Em."

She glanced over at her shoulder to see a young man around her age, dark shaggy hair and blue eyes rivaling her own. He was wearing worn jeans and a pair of heavy duty boots, a hoodie covered a barely visible band t-shirt.

"Hey Cody, what's up?" she greeted casually.

"Nothing much, just scored some tickets to a secret concert, you down?" He stood next to her with his hands in his pockets and a grin of his own.

"You know the rules; I can't go anywhere unless I ask my mom number one and mom number two." She chuckled and pushed her bike out onto the street just as the light changed. The tires clicked away as they dutifully spun, crunching against the loose pebbles and pavement on the road.

"Taylor and Shelby can come too, I got a crap load of tickets for free," he jogged to catch up with her and Ember hummed thoughtfully. Her eyes drifted up to the sky in thought.

"I'll see what they have planned. Don't forget Taylor's Birthday is tomorrow," she warned and Cody nodded obediently.

"How could I?" He sounded insulted and Ember laughed. "You're getting the cake and stuff now?"

"Yeah, wanna help?" She glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes. The second he turned to look at her she turned to face him with a full on puppy dog pout.

"Gah! Jeez! Don't look at me like that!" They both laughed and Cody ended up following her to grocery store with the excuse that he had nothing else to do anyways. They stood in front of the counter at the store trying to pick out a cake that Taylor would like. Ember even pressed her face up against the glass to inspect a promising one. Cody only shook his head and glanced around, hoping no one was looking in their direction while she made a fool of herself. When they finally settled on a chocolate one Ember collected a few other items they needed before dragging Cody to the cash register. The two idly looked through tabloid magazines while waiting in line.

"Listen to this one; Giant Alien Robots Destroy National Monument," Ember snickered and handed the magazine to Cody who glanced at the picture of the robot from the animated movie 'Iron Giant.'

"Classic," he commented.

They carried everything out to her bike and carefully loaded it into the basket that hung over the back tire. Ember climbed onto the bike and pushed it along slowly so Cody could keep up. The two chattered about the upcoming concert excitedly on the way back to Ember's apartment, caring little about their surroundings, in fact, at one point when they had been crossing the street a silver corvette stingray nearly mowed her over. It had slammed on its breaks just in time and Ember glared at it and flicked the driver off, a younger man around their age, before steering her bike around the rumbling vehicle.

The car's engine growled before it peeled away in a cloud of smoke that smelt heavily of burnt rubber.

"Wow, what a fuck face," Ember deadpanned. Cody snickered into the cake he was holding. He was one of the few who actually appreciated Ember's blunt language, even when she didn't use any curse words she still managed to come up with some pretty good insults. "So ANYWAYS, who else did you get to come over tomorrow?"

"Uh, a bunch, you said invite the gang so I…yeah," he trailed off with a nervous chuckle. His eyes flitted about nervously.

Ember stared at him with eyes wide. "Holy shit nuggets! Ok, you're buying snacks then." Cody argued but it was pretty much impossible to win an argument against a brick wall of sarcasm.

When the two stepped through the front door of her apartment they were greeted with excited voices and what sounded like an action movie playing in the background. Cody blinked in confusion while placing the cake in the bare fridge. Ember handed him the rest of the groceries before making her way to the back room to find out what was going on.

"Ember, they've got more video of those crazy alien things!" Shelby shouted. Shelby was shorter than both Taylor and Ember and her pixie cut hair was two toned, one side was black and the other bleach blond. She was hopping around in pajama pants and a tank top while Taylor sat at the computer, staring at the screen critically.

"It's just a fake, those things aren't real," Ember replied wryly.

"No way, look!" Taylor pulled Ember down in front of the computer to watch. She was forced to come face to face with video of what indeed looked like alien robots, and she had to admit, it didn't look faked at all.

Cody slid into the room to watch as well. On the clip, people were screaming from inside a building, crouching by a window, while outside the robots were fighting and at one point a giant one stepped close enough to shake the building. An explosion occurred off screen and the camera was turned off.

'_Great, they're never going to shut up about this now…'_she thought gloomily. Then, "Wait a minute, how did you get this?"

"Uhhhh," Taylor and Shelby shared a look before simultaneously jumping up and running out of the room. About a month and a half ago Shelby had found some videos that the government really didn't want getting out. Needless to say, Ember was woken up at two in the morning by some sketchy looking guys in black suits asking (ordering) he to hand over her computer. Not wanting to cause any trouble, Ember had done as she was told after shouting a few choice words at the men. A week later a new computer was found in front of her door.

"They're so mature," she muttered. Cody laughed and followed after the two girls, probably to go watch TV. Ember sighed and walked out into the living room. "I'm gonna run back out again, Cody, watch the idiots."

Cody saluted and jumped onto the couch with a sigh. Shelby picked the remote up and absently flipped through channels. They appeared to affix themselves in place, anyone would assume they had always been stuck to the couch in those exact positions.

Stepping out the front door Ember growled in annoyance but once again threw her leg over her bike and headed for the dollar store this time. If as many people as she thought were coming tomorrow, she was going to need a shit ton of paper plates and cups. She mentally went over the last week's expenses, figuring her account balance and how much she would be able to waste on the party.

Peddling down the street she couldn't help but think of the video. If it was true then there were either some REALLY big government robots hanging around, or Earth finally got some visitors of the extra terrestrial sort. She hoped it wouldn't turn out like War of the Worlds, or that new movie Skyline. Humans generally won in Hollywood, but reality could be a whole other ball game. She grunted in a very unladylike fashion, hating how weak humanity was.

She was just riding up onto the bridge, feeling gravity drag at her legs, when there was the sound of a blearing car horn accompanied by squealing tires. Ember glanced over her shoulder and froze. Well, at least her body did, but the bike kept moving. Despite that there was a car coming straight for her she still managed to form a sarcastic thought.

"_Of course only something like this could happen to me."_

In slow motion it probably would have looked really cool, but sadly for Ember, no adrenalin kicked into her system because it was all happening too fast. The car smacked into her and the force threw her off her bike, up over the hood, and onto the ground behind it where she lay unconscious.

It was that stupid silver stingray…


	3. Rabbit Heart

**A/N: Edited! **

It was raining. It was cold. And it smelt of damp Earth. Either steam or a fog swirled about her muddied and damp feet, and her breath mixed with frost already present in the air. Her mind had sorted through these facts automatically because she was honestly too stunned to understand what was going on herself. She had been riding her bike over the bridge to downtown, at least, as far as she could remember but glancing around; she could see nothing similar to her previous surroundings.

She stood at the entrance to a massive cave, like a monstrous mouth, it seemed to be reaching out to ensnare the whole of the Earth. Scraggily stalactites and stalagmites decorated the floor and ceiling like long fangs. Around the cave was a dark and sinister forest, oaks bent and reaching for her with leafless hands. But somewhere in the distance she could hear car horns and airplanes.

She brushed red bangs out of her icy blue eyes and took a shaky breath. From her right came an audible 'click' and a whining noise, the growing sound instantly reminded her of defibrillators. The image of urgent doctors moving over a dying patient however, was brushed aside when she locked eyes with red optics.

Her heart was pounding.

Her head was splitting.

Her lungs were aching.

And her knees were shaking.

But it all compared to nothing when a sudden pain blossomed in her chest and she lurched forward. She screamed as skin split open and metal burst forth. She felt things twisting and reshaping, she heard clinking and whirling, and she smelt the strange scent of ozone and burning flesh. And she grew. She grew until she stood almost eye to eye to the monstrous behemoth in front of her.

Sudden confidence swirled through her shocked form. She found herself standing with her metallic feet spread and one hand resting on a well-defined and strangely purple hip. She felt powerful.

The mech's optics across from her widened and reflected the image of a sleek and tall femme. Shoulders held back and doors, looking almost like wings, held up in nothing but pure defiance, she posed quite an image. Her helmet was flattering and swooped down between her eyes to form a kind of visor and two antennas, looking almost like horns, gave her an elfish appearance.

"What are you?" Computerized - not human. The voice was deep and held an almost pleasing quality to it.

She sneered and her icy blue optics narrowed just as a curved blade slid from her wrist. "Not to sound cliché, but, I hope you're ready, cause if you didn't catch the memo, I'm about to kick your ass!"

She charged.

…..

Pain, she could feel lots and lots of pain. In fact, she was certain that she felt pain in places she didn't even knew she had. She registered throbbing aches and sharp stings, and everything in between. She felt warm wet asphalt under her, rubbing at her already raw skin and soaking her clothes.

Opening her eyes showed her the blurry blue sky and framed by the white puffy clouds was the face of a rough looking man. He was attractive in a roughish kind of way, with salt and pepper hair and blue eyes. She obviously did not recognize him, but she certainly wish she did.

"Are you alright?" he asked with a slight British accent. His brows scrunched together only slightly in concern, hinting at a professional attitude.

Ember stared blankly up at him, still replaying his voice within her mind. She would have squealed if this had been some corny movie, she had a bit of a weakness for british accents. But since it was reality she settled on responding. "Yeah," she grunted and pulled herself into a sitting position. She examined her now torn skinny jeans and her scraped knees miserably, 'those were my favorite,' she thought. "What happened?"

"You were hit by a car. Nothing is wrong with you as far as I can tell, but I would like to get a closer look. I've already called an ambulance over." He replied. He stepped back, allowing her to catch sight of a yellow rescue hummer that sat patiently by the curb.

Ember adopted a horrified expression. The man did not move, only continued to stare at her.

"You called an ambulance? I don't have money to pay for that!" Eyes burning with anger, the red head pushed herself unsteadily onto her feet and clenched her fists. "I cannot believe this!" Almost as an afterthought she added, "You better be a doctor!"

He smirked at her spunk and casually, almost too casually, turned back to look at the yellow rescue hummer. Next to it was blue and red flame covered semi-truck. The two colorful vehicles did not go unnoticed by either Ember or the rest of society as it passed by. Instead, they glaringly drew all the attention within eyesight and slowed traffic.

Fuming, and about ready to punch the British man in the face regardless of his good intentions, Ember growled and dusted herself off. She muttered a few choice words under her breath and ignored him when he raised a brow; instead she moved over towards her bike that lay awkwardly on the ground and examined the tires. They were bent, both of them, and it would cost money to get new ones. She halfheartedly attempted to spin the front wheel and watched with a frown as the tire struggled to turn.

"Where's the ass wipe that hit me?" She looked back over her shoulder at the man who seemed irritated. Traffic was moving slowly by, most people curious as to what was going on and wondering if anyone had died.' _Sick bastards_.' She glowered at a woman who was leaning her head out of her window to get a closer look. _'Where are the cops?' _she wondered foully.

"Gone, now sit down before you hurt yourself," he advised. Although Ember thought he meant it as an order. She glared at him before crossing her arms and leaning against the railing that stood between the sidewalk and the water below. "You won't have to pay," he added quietly. He moved in front of her and stared into her eyes before holding up a finger and waving it around for her to follow. "You're lucky you didn't bust your head open. Most people who are hit by vehicles don't come out as well as you did."

"Most people don't get hit by vehicles," she stated dryly with a chuckle. The man flicked her between the eyes with a grunt while lifting her arm up to feel for fractures. His touch was warm and static-y, like he had just dragged his feet over carpet.

Ember was caught between feeling amused and severely angered. The casual way the man handed out discipline was irksome. She absently rubbed at her forehead where he had flicked her.

"How is she Ratchet?"

The new voice came from an exceptionally tall man with black, almost blue, hair. He was broad shouldered and well-toned and had an amazingly charming smile. A red leather coat covered a black shirt. Despite his casual wear, he was a very imposing figure and radiated stiffness that leaned towards militant.

"Asides from her attitude she's fine," he replied grouchily while stepping back to allow the new comer a better look at the disheveled woman.

"At least I have a sense of humor," she countered. Ratchet, as the other man had called him, sighed in frustration. Ember smirked in satisfaction, finding the game all too amusing. There were many people in the world that she absolutely despised, but she found herself almost magnetically drawn to them. Or she was suffering from side effects of colliding with a runaway vehicle.

"I'd have to agree with her," the other man put in smugly. Ratchet sent him a glare that only caused him to laugh. "My name is Tim." He held out his hand encouragingly.

"Tim?" she uttered doubtfully, it was such a meek sounding name for such an imposing man. She shook his offered hand in confusion. "Ratchet?" she glanced at the older man next to her. "You're not some weird sci-fi nerd, are you?"

"No," Ratchet growled out, crossing his arms against his chest.

Ember turned away with a slight shrug and kicked at her bike dejectedly. Tim watched her sadly, distressed to see someone in such a mood.

"I'm sorry about your bike, do you need a lift?" Tim crouched down in front of the lame bike and spun the tire, watching as it struggled to perform its task.

Weariness flooded her mind, all kinds of thoughts filtered through her brain about these men. She didn't know them and they had magically appeared as soon as she regained conscience. They could be anybody. Yet she counted herself a good judge of character and these two had no negative vibes about them at all, other than concern. She glanced down the street and sighed, the dollar store (her long lost destination) was too far to walk to in her condition; bruised, battered, and bleeding from the knees. Laziness overruled her weariness.

Ember stared at them and with a shit eating grin she delved deep into thought of how this was now to her advantage, before crossing her arms. "Weeeellll, I do need a ride home, but I was on my way to the store to buy some party stuff, so if you're free then…" She trailed off, completely disregarding the one rule every parent taught their children; 'Don't go with strangers'. _'Sorry mom,'_ she thought determinedly.

"Absolutely no-."

"Of course," Tim cut off the grouchy doctor. "We can put your bike in my truck," he gestured over his shoulder at the Semi before lifting the bike onto its bent tires. One of the orange reflectors fell off and shattered on the ground. Ember stared at it blankly.

"But Op-," Ratchet began. He had stepped forward, as if to physically restrain the younger man.

"It'll be fine Ratchet, we owe her, it's the least we could do," Tim paused and stared back at the man. Strangely enough, Ratchet did not protest after that. He merely stepped back with a tight lipped expression and glowered at Ember.

Ember raised a brow in suspicion.

"What about the ambulance?" she questioned idly while Tim fiddled hopelessly with the bike.

"Don't worry about it." Ratchet glowered at the younger man before strutting over to the vehicle like an irritable mother hen.

"You guys are weird…," Ember stated absently while she watched the doctor climb in the hummer. She turned to look at Tim who was looking at her questioningly, "Are you guys gay?" Tim blinked owlishly before sudden understanding blossomed and his face took on a confused and somewhat amused expression.

"No," he responded simply.

Getting the bike up into the truck when there was a distinctive lack of a trailer was surprisingly easy. With Tim pushing the bike in from behind and Ember pulling from inside the truck, it took barely two minutes with a bit of creative maneuvering on Ember's part. It now rested just behind the passenger seat pathetically.

"My names Ember by the way," she announced as the trucks engine rumbled to life. It reminded her of an old trucking game she used to play in an arcade back home with her dad. She could never win that game; the automatic shift always threw her off, and even when her dad did it for her she was still too little to drive properly. It was still fun though, she loved crashing into things.

"That's a unique name; I don't think I have met a person with that name before." He stared at her as he spoke and Ember couldn't help but speculate how he could drive without even peeking at the road.

"What can I say, dad was a pyro," she shrugged nonchalantly (Although she was secretly proud of her odd name). She gazed down at her shaking hands and sighed, just now feeling the after effects of the accident. When she got home she was taking some pain killers and curling up in bed.

With a broken bike she would have to start driving her car again, which meant she was probably going to have to get another job. "I hate our economy," she stated darkly. "And I hate the douche that ruined my bike." Lately it seemed like the whole world was against itself and she was no exception. Sometimes she wished she had been born into another century, preferably a more successful one. The constant worry of money, food, and education could quickly wear away even the toughest of souls

Tim gave her a sympathetic look and his grip on the steering wheel tightened. "I am not from around here but it appears that many people are suffering." Ember blinked. _From another country? _If he wasn't used to dealing with the horrible economy then he definitely was not from any part of America.

"You're telling me. I share rent with two other people and work full time and I still can't keep the fridge full," she explained in exasperation. She poked at her scraped knees and winced. The last time she had scraped them she had probably been 12, funnily enough, she had been riding her bike then too. She had bawled her eyes out that day.

"I see." He sighed and the sound was echoed by the truck as it rumbled almost unhappily.

"I'm not the only one who's suffering, I'll live," she brushed off his concern. "The dollar stores up here." In truth she was deeply touched by the sincere concern that the stranger was showing however the sympathy brushed against her prideful personality in the wrong way. The realization that Tim was a genuine compassionate person dawned on her just then.

The truck pulled to a stop out front of the busy store, the air breaks hissed, and Ember pushed her door open. She slid out of the vehicle and landed in a puddle, sending water through the air. She smirked at the immature act before turning back to face Tim.

"I will be here," he stated shortly.

Ember nodded and casually strolled around the front of the truck and entered the store. The doors slid shut behind her with a resounding clap. She briefly wondered if they were operating at a safe speed before slithering down an isle in search of some bandages for her knees.

When she had successfully secured a box of Band-Aids she traveled to the other side of the store for party supplies. Carelessly kicking her feet, she browsed the snacks. She could afford to buy a couple bags of chips and candy for the party tomorrow, knowing Cody, he would forget anyways.

With arms filled with supplies, she quickly made her way to the cash register and paid for them. She collected her bags, ignoring the strange looks she got, and thankfully stepped out into the sunlight. She hadn't thought about her appearance when she had first entered the store, but upon exiting it she took the time to examine her clothing and sighed despairingly. Resigned to the loss of a good pair of pants and a shirt, she marched over to the garish truck that was now parked at the back of the lot. After what seemed like an hour of walking she reached for the door and pulled it open to find Tim sitting right where she had left him.

"Were you able to find all that you were looking for?" he asked.

"Yeah," she placed the bags on the floor and glanced down at her boots. They were scuffed and covered in enough mud to put a pig to shame. She reached down to brush some off when she spotted a puddle of toxic looking blue liquid collecting next to the front tire. "What's this stuff?" She crouched down and reached forward to touch it.

"Do not touch it, it burns," he warned her and peered down at her from the front seat.

"I'll take your word for it," she stated dryly. It certainly looked dangerous enough. She pulled her hand away and climbed into the cab of the truck cautiously, wary of her scraped knees. While the Tim pulled out of the lot Ember applied the bandages to her wounds which were, although bloody, about as fatal as an ant bite.

Riding with a stranger wasn't all that bad, Ember realized - if you ignored the long awkward pauses and the like. Tim was a nice enough guy despite his weird friend, he was easy to get along with, and attractive to boot. Yet despite all the pros that just seemed to radiate from kind man, Ember got the feeling that she was missing something. And when he finally dropped her off, she could have sworn he kind of…well…flickered. Not to mention the fact that she had seen a yellow rescue hummer more than once on their trip.

"Thanks for the lift, I'll see you around?" she grinned up at him.

"Maybe." Tim grew tight lipped as he looked at her strangely.

In other words, no.

"Oh well, it was nice meeting you," Ember lifted her bags from the floor and waved goodbye before closing the door and turning to face her apartments. Tim smiled before the Semi rumbled to life and pulled away slowly, almost reluctantly. She glanced back once before scurrying off to her home to get out of the cold.


	4. Raise Your Glass

**EDITED :D**

**A/N: Ok, sorry for any crappyness in this chapter. I've got no one looking over this but me so if you see any mistakes or have any ideas let me know! I love to get reviews with constructive criticism because I like to improve.**

**Have any of you seen the Owls of Ga'Hoole? I sat there watching it and thought it was amazing. The second time through I kept giggling because I kept finding similarities to TF. Metal Beak is pretty much a bird version of Megs XD**

**Anyways, r and r peeps ;P**

Lying in bed watching TV at ten o'clock in the morning in nothing but her pajamas Ember was aware that she looked like a couch potato, or more accurately, a bed potato. Her body felt exhausted even after a full night of sleep and she wanted nothing more than to remain in bed for the rest of her life. She could hear someone moving about in the kitchen, the smell of eggs and bacon drifting into her room from under her bedroom door. Judging by the fact that no one in the apartment cooked, she guessed Cody had stayed over. Again. It was so like him to just crash in the living room without even asking. At least he attempted to repay them with actual meals instead of their usual frozen dinners.

On TV a golden android was talking to a short little robot. Sci-Fi was having a Star Wars marathon.

She sighed and rolled over, pulling the covers up above her head in an attempt to sleep just a little bit more. Her soft sheets provided just the right amount of comfort to keep her in bed, to make her feel lazy, and to remain in the warmth. After the excitement of the previous day, her poor addled brain could not take any more strain for fear of a mental breakdown. Was she being over dramatic? Maybe just a little bit. She curled up and slowed her breathing, feeling her mind drift out of focus and sleep take over.

"Ember!" The door burst open and rebounded off the wall, nearly putting a hole in it. "What do you want on your omelet?"

She glared at the underside of her blanket with all the hate she could muster.

"Justice," she growled.

"Ok, I'll tell Cody that," Taylor cheerily replied. "Seriously," she prompted.

Ember pushed the covers off of her face and turned to look at her roommate standing in the doorway patiently. She was tempted to lodge a pillow down her throat and as if sensing the killer intent Taylor fidgeted. "Cheese and ham," she replied with a sigh and sat up rubbing sleep from her eyes. Taylor disappeared while Ember crawled out of bed and brushed her hair out of her eyes before stepping out into the light of day. Behind her, the comforting darkness of her room called to her inner demon.

Shoulders slumped and eyes drooping she shuffled into the kitchen where Cody was standing over the stove with a spatula in one hand and a pan in the other. He wore red plaid pajama bottoms and a black wife beater, his hair was tussled and stuck up at odd angels. He jiggled the yellow substance off the bottom of the pan and carefully slid it onto an awaiting plate.

"Here you go." He held out the plate to her and she took it readily, her growling stomach demanding sustenance.

"I didn't know you could cook food," she stated sarcastically. She reached for a glass of orange juice perched and waiting for her on the counter. Cody chuckled and pushed her out of the kitchen and towards the table where Taylor was sitting and already eating an omelet of her own.

Ember sat in the seat across from her just as Shelby came out of the bathroom and sat at the end of the table. They greeted each other with sounds of acknowledgment and little else. This was the usual routine, it was one that had not left them after they grew out of their teenage phase, and it had served them well. Only a select few could distinguish the exact mood of one of the roommates within the small apartment by a single grunt alone.

The omelet was good, all cheesy and filled with ham, but about half way through Taylor made a comment about a bruise Ember had on the side of her face and she lost her appetite. The fact that she had almost been killed left a bad taste in her mouth. She fought off the shiver that threatened to shake her and instead took a sip of her orange juice.

"So you were hit by a car but not hurt?" Shelby asked in confusion. She played with a long string of cheese from Taylor's plate absently while her mind processed the information. Taylor stared at Shelby incredulously but the look went unnoticed by Shelby.

"Not that I wasn't hurt, just nothing serious," Ember replied.

Cody sat down at the other end of the table and handed a plate to Shelby before digging into his meal the way only a guy could. Inhuman sized bites and with almost no air in between.

"Sounds like you were lucky," Taylor said while stabbing the last bite of her eggs and glancing in Shelby's direction cautiously, worried for her breakfast.

"Yeah I heard that already." Ember grouched and stuffed the rest of the omelet into her mouth defiantly. Her stomach flipped angrily, but she forced the food down.

"And some guys with weird names just happened to be there when you woke up?" It was Shelby again, with the same confused tone. While she adopted a comically quizzical expression, she continued to play with another string of cheese from her own plate.

"Yup."

"And one of them offered to take you around town?"

"Something like that."

"Hmm," Shelby thoughtfully pushed a piece of ham around on her plate. "Sounds like they were feeling guilty," she ended the tennis ball conversation shortly.

"Why would they feel guilty? I was hit by some ass wipe in a silver corvette." Ember pushed her plate away and raised a brow in Shelby's direction.

"Maybe they knew the guy," Cody threw in randomly.

"I doubt it," Ember deadpanned, deciding to end the discussion there. But she couldn't help but think that that Tim guy had seemed a little culpable. Like he was fighting with his own conscience.

….

Snip!

"Goddamnit!"

Ember watched as a small drop of blood welled up from a cut on her finger. A pair of scissors rested on the floor where she sat. A blue streamer lay in her lap, forgotten.

"Again?" Cody asked from his perch on the step ladder. He was holding a ring of clear tape and a purple streamer.

"Yes," she muttered.

"Maybe you should make the snacks instead," Shelby suggested from the kitchen. She looked a bit bewildered by the stack of recipes she was looking through.

"It's just dip, how hard could it be?" Ember asked.

"They're just streamers, how hard could it be?" Shelby shot back.

Ember paused, "touché."

In preparation for Taylor's party, they had chosen to begin as early in the day as they possibly could. Shelby had sent Taylor away on an endless list of errands, despite the fact that Taylor already knew of her impending birthday celebration, and had locked the front door behind her. The three had sat around, like lag in a computer game, until they finally mustered the energy to move about.

Switching over to food duty, Ember picked out a small stack of things she could make with the ingredients Cody had bought. She washed her hands, bandaged her cut, and put her hair up into a quick bun before starting. She cracked her knuckles expertly and hefted a pot onto the stove with a grunt.

She was halfway through the stack of recipes and up to her elbows in cheese'n'chili sauce for the nacho cheese dip when she got a phone call. There was a brief moment in which she stared at her cheese layered hands and then imploringly (desperately) at Cody who met her gaze humorously. He jumped down from the latter and strutted into the kitchen to answer the phone. Ember waited seven seconds before he slid the cell phone onto her shoulder.

"It's Jessie," he announced before returning to his task.

"Hey Jess, what's up?" Ember greeted her friend. She stirred the contents of the bowl in front of her absently. Jessie was one of Cody's numerous ex-girlfriends that had somehow worked her way into the group of friends against Cody's pleading. It was his worst nightmare, but one look from Ember had shut him up. He got over it real quick. _'He always does'_, she thought bitterly.

"Hey, Em, nothing much, what time does the party start?" Jessie's voice was pleasant enough yet she always sounded distracted when she was on the phone, as if she had more important things to be doing at that very moment.

"Six-ish," she replied. She pushed the bowl into the microwave and narrowed her eyes at the timer, estimating the amount of time it would take. She hesitantly entered five minutes and turned away, leaning against the counter.

"Ok, who all is coming?" she asked.

"I have no clue. I let Cody do the inviting, so my best guess would be a shit ton of people I don't know." The bowl of chilicheese dip let out a pop that caused her to jump and turn back to the microwave. Had she put it in for too long?

"Oops. Well, I guess I'll see you later then," Jessie hung up a few seconds after Ember bid her farewell.

It most cases, preparing for a party was boring, and this would have been the same if it weren't for the fact that Cody was there and they were blasting music while gulping down energy drinks. A hyper Shelby was one to remember, she ran around the house screaming and didn't get any work done, but Ember appreciated the entertainment. Cody was doing his best to decorate around the twister of destruction that was Shelby. In Ember's opinion, he was succeeding.

"Hey, you should post on Face Book and get everybody to bring whatever drinks and snacks they want so we can have more," Ember told Cody. Everyone would get the message, she had no doubt, Cody couldn't even _receive_ friend requests anymore because he had exceeded the limit.

Cody looked up from the table cloth he was unfolding and sighed dramatically. "I guess," he turned and headed for the back room in search of the computer. Ember rolled her eyes and picked up the table cloth and threw it over the table. She arranged the food around the chocolate cake she had pulled out of the fridge minutes before and stood back to admire her handy work. Then, with a glint of pride in her eyes, she examined the whole of the room and placed her hands on her hips.

"I like it."

…

"When did we get a bouncer?" Ember asked in exasperation.

"What?" Cody turned from a blond bimbo he had been talking to and glanced over at the door where a tall and very intimidating man stood. Tattoos, piercings, and spikes. "Oh, that's just Phil, Ember. Don't you remember him? You know, that one time we went out and you got drunk and you threw up all over his cool boots."

Ember groaned and face palmed, the vague semblance of a memory that surfaced in her mind was not a pretty one and it involved much nausea. Cody laughed and pushed a drink into her hand.

"Just don't pull a repeat," he warned jokingly.

Ember glared but took a sip of her drink before turning and scanning the crowd for Taylor. Spotting the birthday girl, she laughed. Taylor was wearing a funny green and purple pimp hat and head bobbing to the music. "Looks, like she's having fun," she commented dryly. Taylor had always been the social butterfly of the group; she could make friends with anyone without even trying. Ember and Shelby on the other hand were about as socially graceful as rocks.

Music was blasting, lights were flashing, and people were dancing. It was certainly a good party, and a few (a bunch) of drinks later, Ember started to have fun too. She talked to a lot of people and caught up with them, introduced herself to people she didn't even know, and danced with Cody. She nearly tripped over him but they just laughed it off.

No one had even touched the cake yet.

Hours flew by and it was nearing midnight.

All of the fun ended for Ember when her stomach lurched and she rushed to the bathroom. It was never a nice feeling, knowing you were about to be sick. Yanking the door open she found it occupied by three other people who were already sick. She froze for a collection of seconds, her mind blank of any other options, and that cost her precious time. She refused to use the kitchen sink because then she would be seen by the entire party and that would be an embarrassment and a half. It would end up on Face Book no doubt. The sweet embrace of the cold night air would be her only solution.

The front door was thrown open and Ember was expelled from the party almost comically. She stumbled across the breezeway. With one hand balancing her against the wall, she dizzily stared down at the ground, waiting for the inevitable. Although, with nothing to keep her mind occupied her eyes were drawn to a line of ants, marching across the concrete dutifully.

"Jeez Ember, you can't hold your liquor at all, can you?"

Cody leaned against the wall next to her with his hands in his pockets. He looked down at her with an expression somewhere between pity and guilt.

"Shut up Cody, you're the one who gave me that…concoction." She groaned and pressed her back against the wall and slid down into a sitting position. She felt miserable. Cody was silent. Ember glanced up at him through a curtain of her hair and blinked, he was looking to his right, wariness written on his face.

"Ember?"

A familiar voice.

A tall figure stood at the end of the breezeway and only when he stepped into the dim light did Ember recognize him as Tim. Concern was radiating off of him in waves.

"Yes dad?" she asked with an amused and slightly slurred tone. Cody glanced down at her with a brow raised questionably, confused by the familiarity the two shared.

"Are you alright?" the man's head tilted in an almost childlike gesture of curiosity. Behind him the apartment parking lot was silent except for the lonely chirping of a cricket.

"Just peachy, how about you?" Her voice was loaded with sarcasm. Had she been sober she might have taken a different approach, probably a bit kinder with a lot more respect, and asked what the man was doing back in her area. But she wasn't, so she didn't, and the helpful soul was left to deal with her irritating behavior.

"I am Fine," he responded in a perplexed tone. "May I have a word with you?" He glanced over at Cody meaningfully and Cody, being the smooth person he was, chose that moment to sidle back to the party.

Tim crouched down in front of Ember and cleared his throat to grab her clearly wandering attention. She watched a moth that was furiously beating its wings against a light hanging from the ceiling. "Are you sure you are alright?"

"Yeah, but if I throw up on your shoes don't hate me," she snickered and brushed some hair out of her face. The urgent tone Tim spoke with was lost amongst her giggly mood.

"Ember, listen to me this is important." Brushing his concern aside he placed a hand on her shoulder. Once again she was reminded of the militant air that surrounded him as he switched gears. Suddenly he was no longer beating around the bush. "There's been some suspicious activity in the area and I fear that you may be targeted due to our previous interactions. Please be aware of your surroundings."

"Right, I can do that. What kind of activity?" she asked curiously, seeming a bit more sober.

"Gang violence mostly," he glanced down the breezeway suspiciously.

"Gangs? I didn't even know we had gangs," Ember stared at his face curiously.

"Needless to say, be wary." He reached into his jacket and pulled out a slip of paper and placed it in her hand. "In fact, call this number if you see anything suspicious or out of the ordinary."

Ember looked down at the paper and squinted, trying to make out the numbers. "Will do, pops." She fiddled with the slip absently and then paused, "Wait, so you're some kind of police guy?" She raised a brow, "Are you a truck driver on the weekends too?"

Tim's mouth quirked into the smallest of smiles, "Something along those lines," he replied dryly.

"That's such a vague answer. You're a very vague person; in fact, your whole existence is vague. Are you sure you're human?" She narrowed her eyes and leaned forward to examine his face. He was trying to think of an easy way to change the subject without seeming suspicious when Ember held up a finger and crawled over to a set of bushes and threw up. The retching noise was anything but pleasant and caused Tim grimace in sympathy as he stood.

"Ugh, I think I just barfed my brains out," she groaned and slumped to the ground in a much undignified heap, but let's face it; dignity left the party seven drinks ago.

"You should go back inside if you are unwell," Tim stated firmly. He seemed to be channeling Ratchet a bit with a tight line of a mouth and eyebrows scrunched together in unease. Music spilled out from inside the apartment leaving Ember to wonder why none of her neighbors had complained yet. Really, the music was obnoxiously loud.

"To many," she mumbled.

"People?" he prompted quizzically. He stepped towards Ember hesitantly.

"S'mthin like that," she muttered jokingly.

Tim fell silent and watched the girl who was slumped on the ground and looking more than a little worse for wear. He was debating on his next course of action when the front door opened and Cody slipped out. He glanced at the two and paused before moving to kneel in front of Ember.

"I thought I'd let you know that Taylor's still going strong and that you are now officially a weak ass whiney bitch," Cody exclaimed good naturedly.

Tim stared uncomprehendingly at the young man while he blatantly insulted his friend. Ember only shrugged and lifted a clenched fist in what was most likely to be a threat. She dropped her hand and sighed dramatically.

"Whatever, I don't care, I just want my bed," she exclaimed.

"Fine," Cody said. He stood and pulled Ember to her feet and watched her to stumble back to the party.

"Bye Tim," Ember added before stepping back into the apartment. She didn't even spare him a glance of which Tim took no offence to after witnessing her drunken state. The door was shut behind her and Cody hunched his shoulders with a disbelieving look on his face, she had just left him alone to send off her unknown friend. He turned to look at the rather intimidating man and cleared his throat.

"Well, I guess I should go take care of her…" he trailed off, looking at the man expectantly.

"Tim," he provided simply.

"Right, I thought that's what she said, Tim…the guy who helped her the other day?" he lifted a brow in a mixture of suspicion and curiosity. He slid his hands into his pockets to warm them up, only now noticing the cold due to the tense atmosphere.

"Indeed," another simple response. There seemed to be a lot of disapproval in the single word and Cody felt as though he had just been lectured, granted he did not know what for.

"Oookay," his face was void of expression, "I see where this is going. Well thank you for helping her and I'll… uhhh…just stay out of your way then…" He took a step towards the door, looked back at the man once more as if to say something, then shook his head and stepped back into the apartment.

Tim stared at the door with a rather perplexed look on his face; he was unsure of the events that had just transpired. He had not meant to offend the young man but apparently he had taken his tone the wrong way.

Cody pushed the door open and was greeted by the familiar darkness of Ember's room. He could just barely make out her form, huddled on top of the bed. Feeling a bit concerned for her wellbeing (and more than a bit guilty) he moved over to her and rested a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to rouse her enough to apologize. She groaned and threw an arm out randomly, slapping him in the face.

"Ow! Where the hell did you get that aim?" He chuckled and touched his cheek.

"Your mom," she replied groggily.

"Of course you did," Cody pulled the messy covers over her and flicked her in the forehead. "Thanks, by the way for leaving me with Mr. Tall dark and scary as hell," he said cheerily. Ember only grunted and pulled the covers further over her face. He sat down on her bed and sighed; taking one of her hands in his own he rubbed at the smooth skin. The blinds were open, allowing strands of pale moon light to filter in and line the walls. Outside of the room, people cheered, but Cody sat unmoving.

"I fucking hate you Cody," she grumbled.

"I love you too," he shot back with a chuckle. He brushed a strand of hair out of her face and leaned over, kissing her on the forehead. "Just don't let it go to your head."

Ember smiled in the darkness of her room that was oh so comforting and slipped into unconsciousness.


	5. All star

**A/N: Edited! Although there really wasn't that much that I wanted to change about this chapter, I rather liked this one :P**

Sunlight….gross….

It streamed fittingly in through her blinds and directly onto her face.

Ember groaned and rolled over and pulled the blankets with her. She buried her head under her pillow and tried desperately to fall back asleep. The heavy pounding in her head could only be staved off by the beautiful unconsciousness that she held so dear, and she knew it. The memories of the previous night had yet to resurface, and she intended to keep it that way for a little while longer. She could feel her body relaxing against the pain and for a few minutes it seemed like she was going to achieve what was thought to be impossible.

"Bitch you did not just steal the blanket."

The blankets were ripped off of Ember and she was left, staring blankly up at her ceiling in confusion. Cody continued to slumber peacefully. Confusion turned to annoyance, which quickly turned into outright anger. "Get the fuck out of my bed!" She pushed him off and at the resounding 'thud' she smiled and reclaimed her lost blanket and once again curled up under it. As far as she was concerned the world was right again.

Ten minutes later Cody stood from the floor and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He glanced over at the clock, noting that it was eleven o'clock and it was probably time to clean up and get rid of all the unwanted guests that _weren't_ him. He glanced at the sleeping monster that was his best friend and grimaced. He had to at least try.

"Ember it's time to get up," he shook her shoulder and received a pillow in the face for his efforts. This was not going to be easy, it was never easy, not when it came to Ember. He sighed and pulled the blanket away from her, watching as it pooled to the ground limply, he half expected it to grow fangs and demand to be given back to its master. Fearing for his life he quickly made his exit, dragging the blanket with him.

Outside of Embers room was like a maze of bodies. People were passed out on the couch, the tables, and even on the floor. Had anyone entered the house unaware of the situation, they would probably dial 911 without a second thought. Stepping around them with little care if he actually kicked them as he went by, he made his way to the kitchen, dropped the blanket on the floor, and crouched down in front of the cabinets. He reached in and pulled out a pan, examined it quizzically, before standing a reaching for a metal spatula.

"Rise and shine my pretties!"

To the people in that room, the whole world might as well have been woken up by the clanging sound of metal on metal and the shouting voice of an overly cheery Cody. Both of which deserved to be shot in their opinion.

"I'm gonna kill you," someone groaned.

Cody took a deep breath and let it out, a smile on his face, "I love the smell of suffering in the morning."

He turned to see Taylor come out from her room and stare at the living room filled with bleary eyed people. Groggily she put two and two together and sighed tiredly before attempting to navigate the way to the kitchen where she could hopefully find some eatable food.

"It'd be like killing two birds with one stone. Everyone will get their asses up once they smell food." Cody spoke while he looked in the fridge and pulled out some of the quickly diminishing supply of eggs. They seemed to be the only food he could work with. He cracked three and watched as each one oozed out onto the sizzling pan.

People did start to get up. Slowly at first but they eventually shuffled out the door after a mad search for their belongings. There was a lot of shouting and stumbling around and whenever someone found another person sleeping they would wake them up as rudely as possible so they too could feel everyone else's suffering. Too bad for them the only way to persuade Cody to give up a plate of eggs was with a ten dollar bill. He only convinced one person to actually cough up the money.

"Does anyone have Aspirin?"

"Yes," someone replied sadly.

"Where are my keys?"

"Dude where's my car?"

"My mom thinks I'm dead."

"Holy shit! I slept with Ashton's BF!"

"You Bitch!"

"The hell? Who shaved my head?"

"Whose goat is this?"

So many confusing statements and questions were being hurled back in forth across the room that it quickly morphed into a mad house.

Ember stood in the center of all the chaos, tired and irritable. Her eye twitched. "Not my problem! Everyone, get out of my house!" she cried. Pushing her way through groups of people she didn't even know, she stepped into the kitchen and picked up her blanket, shot a glare in Cody's direction, and retraced her steps back to her room. The door slammed shut.

That was the signal for everyone to scurry away and the few that were left were handed cleaning tools. Cody smiled at them and ordered them to get to work.

Taylor stared down at a stain on the carpet and scrunched her eyebrows together in confusion. "What the…." It was a weird red color and she vacuumed over it cautiously; nothing happened, the stain was still there. She left and came back with the carpet cleaner and attacked the stain. When nothing changed she worked at it more viscously. "What the hell?" Shelby leaned over, examining the stain. She hummed and sprayed it with cleaner until bubbles obscured the spot all together. Taylor ran the cleaning machine over it once again. The stain remained, just as obvious and gross as before. They groaned and Taylor threw down the carpet cleaner. Cody walked by and patted them both on the shoulder in pity.

They scrubbed the floors, counters, and tables. Washed all bed sheets just in case and even went as far as to clean off the couch with the carpet cleaner. They collected plastic cups and plates and threw them all into one giant plastic bag. Shelves were dusted and knickknacks put back in place. And the dishes were all washed and put away.

Have you ever felt like Cinderella?

Ember, who had avoided all work, came out of her room then. She examined the cleaned home before shuffling into the bathroom where she froze and stared at the strange scene before her.

Shelby, seeing Ember standing in the doorway, approached her. "What's up Em?" She looked over her shoulder and burst out laughing.

Curled up in the bathtub sleeping was a random party crasher. Ember chuckled, finding herself in a better mood now that she had slept more. She nudged the guy with her foot.

"What happened?" he mumbled and sat up. He rubbed his eyes and dropped his head into his hands in an attempt to recall what had happened. He blinked up at the two girls in a silent plea for answers.

"You're in my bathtub after a crazy ass party," Ember stated. Shelby laughed and helped to pull the guy out of the bathroom and into the kitchen where Cody served him a plate of food and some pain killers.

"So what is your name, fellow party animal?" Cody asked nonchalantly while he drowned his scrambled eggs in ketchup.

"Daniel," he replied. He ran his hand through his short blond hair and groaned tiredly. He was seated on a bar stool at the small island in the middle of the kitchen where a plate of eggs sat in front of him expectantly.

"Fall asleep in bathtubs often?" Ember asked while scanning the contents of the fridge. She pulled out a can of Pepsi and popped it open.

"More than I want to admit," Daniel laughed. "It was a good party, who was the birthday girl?"

They all pointed over to Taylor who wiggled her fingers in a cheery wave. Daniel lifted his soda in a small toast to her before taking a swig of it. After talking to their new friend they learned a lot about him. Daniel was an artist, he had drawn, painted, sculpted, just about everything a person could think of. He had even done a few tattoos here and there. He was extremely understanding and loved talking to people. He had gotten in with the wrong crowd however and often ended up in, well, people's bathtubs. Ember thought of him as a little brother from then on.

….

"You know, I just don't get it," Taylor stated. She was sitting on Ember's bed with her legs crossed and a magazine open in front of her. "Why can't you wear band shirts to concerts?" She absently pushed another magazine off onto the ground that was already cluttered with useless junk, at least to Taylor, to Ember it was probably all precious treasure.

Outside the window the sky was dark and the only source of light in the room was the TV and a small lamp sitting on the black dresser against one wall. Ember spun her desk chair around and placed her feet on her desk. She looked Taylor in the eye and with a quirked eyebrow asked, "Do you want to look like a crazy obsessed fan noob?"

The image of a fan girl wearing some boy band merchandise and completely covered in body paint with her favorite members name written on her cheeks was one that Ember would go to all extremes to avoid. Ugh, humanity. Ember shuttered in her seat.

"No," she muttered and turned her eyes back to the magazine she was reading. Ember snickered and checked her cell phone out of habit. She had work tomorrow and was basically just killing time with Taylor until she had to go to bed. The TV was tuned on to a comedy talk show.

"I think I want to go and get my nails done before the concert…" Taylor trailed off. Ember hummed in thought.

"I guess, but you're paying for yourself, I don't have extra money. And only if you get a dark color, I won't be seen with someone with pink girly nails." Ember shivered again and pushed herself out of her chair and pulled open a dresser drawer. She scanned the pairs of mismatched socks and sighed. "That does sound like a good idea; I can just bring in my bottle of black nail polish. They never have any of their own," she said while putting a pair on and sitting back down in her chair.

"Ok, let's do it Thursday so they'll be all shiny and pretty for Friday," Taylor proposed.

Ember agreed with a nod and absently spun in the chair; her mind drifting to the other night. She vaguely remembered Tim showing up, but after that she only remembered Cody. She stared at her wooden floor and narrowed her eyes; lying innocently under her bed, just peeking out from behind her bed skirt, was a slip of paper.

Taylor was reading some gossipy passage when Ember crawled across her floor and picked up the slip curiously. She sat down on the hard wood and brushed her bangs out of her face, reading the number on the paper. Scribbled at the top was a small note that read, "In case of emergency". She scrunched her brows together, trying to remember what Tim had said. _'Guess it pretty much describes itself,'_ she thought while pulling her wallet out of her bag and stuffing the number into a pocket. She highly doubted she would end up calling him, what kind of situation would she need to; A flat tire maybe, or if she were dangling from the ledge of a building? She chuckled, _'like that would ever happen'_. She paused. But then again, she had just been hit by a car the other day.

She stood and brushed the back of her pajama bottoms off. Her eyes traveled to the TV automatically at the same moment that the man sitting behind a desk started to talk about Area 51 and the rumor of the supposed alien robots that were running around.

"Could there be a connection between these iron giants and the suspicious government air base Area 51 ? Is Justin Beiber brainwashing little girls? Why is society so obsessed with vampires? Find out tonight!"

Obviously none of it was meant to be taken seriously. Ember rolled her eyes and jumped on her bed, nearly throwing Taylor off. "Good night." She spoke bluntly so it would be taken as an obvious dismissal.

Taylor pouted and took the hint. She stood from the bed and tossed the magazine onto Embers desk before leaving.

…..

It was hot.

This disturbed Ember.

Last week the northern city had been freezing, but now it was sweltering.

Boiling away under the suns intense rays, throngs of people made their way through the park where Cody's "Secret" concert was taking place. The trees were providing the only hope of escaping the heat; sadly they were still, demonstrating the lack of a breeze. Leaves crunching under her boots, Ember admired the deep blue of the sky that she could see between the bushels of greenery. Her bag bounced against her hip as she came to a stop and glanced around for her comrades.

The day before, true to their word, both Taylor and Ember went to get their nails done after work. Ember now wore her usual black nails while Taylor sported a dark green sparkly color that reminded Ember of Christmas. They had sat in the salon for over an hour listening to cheesy old love music and watching the over dramatized soap opera that the employees refused to change. The only good part had been the hand message. They came home smelling of fresh nail polish and refused to help with the dishes after dinner, leaving Shelby to do it by herself. Shelby said it was unfair while Ember said it was payment.

Ember spotted Cody walking on the shoulder of the small two lane road that ran through the park. Dressed in ripped black shorts that just barely covered his knees, a black wife beater, and a grey beanie he screamed 'emo kid' material and Ember had to consciously stop herself from rolling her eyes. A group of three girls (all in short skirts) surrounded him, all chatting and giggling. Cody nodded distractedly at one of them before spotting Ember. He grinned and waved at her.

Ember waved back with a slightly evil grin of her own. The bimbos snobbishly stuck up their noses and moved passed Ember as roughly as they could while Cody stopped at her side.

"What's poppin'?" he asked casually.

"Nothing really, just waiting for you guys," Ember said while she checked her phone. Shelby and Taylor had stopped at the public restrooms before the concert, Ember had gone on ahead to save a spot for them. "Anyways, I thought you said this concert was secret." She stared at the hundreds of people as they traversed the path deeper into the park.

"Well, if it's secret then everyone knows about it. Haven't you heard of social networking?" Cody chuckled while he raised his palms in the air with a sly grin.

"Sorry, but even though I have a FaceBook I don't think it would be possible for me to know as many people as you do, oh popular one." Her sarcasm was not missed by Cody who, being used to it, only nodded along and shrugged at her dilemma.

"If only everyone was like me, the world would be a happy place," he shouted the last part, causing passing people to glance over at him curiously.

"Or completely screwed up," Ember responded dryly.

"But happy," he countered.

The prospect of a world filled with infinite numbers of Cody's was a horrifying one and Ember could only stare blankly at the man in front of her, too deep in thought to respond. When the vision had finally come to an end she glanced over her shoulder in time to see Shelby and Taylor running down the street toward them.

"We have towels!" Shelby shouted, holding one of said objects over her head as she approached. Taylor literally hopped into place next to her and giggled excitedly. "But no towel for you!" Shelby pointed at Cody.

Cody raised a brow and yanked the towel out of her hand and launched himself ahead of the group, carrying the towel like a football.

Shelby shared a look with Taylor and Ember, she was sorely tempted to run after him they could see, but she sighed and only walked. Ember chuckled and started moving as well, not wanting to be stuck with a spot too far away to even see the faces of the band members.

"Where'd you get the towels anyways?" She asked. Taylor and Shelby both laughed but didn't answer.

Beside them, cars rolled down the road slowly, hoping to find parking closer to the stage. Ember moved to walk on the other side of her friends and glanced warily at the cars. The sound of the tires crunching over gravel made a shiver run up her spine. She was frustrated that something like the little accident she had had would bother her so much that she would actually become nervous around other vehicles. Even driving up to the park, she had been overly cautious behind the wheel, afraid that she would hit someone.

The roar of a particularly expensive sounding engine drew the threes attention and Ember nearly choked on the bottle of water she was sipping from.

"Hey ladies!" Sitting in the seat of a suspiciously familiar silver sting ray was the same guy who had hit her not but a week earlier. His brown hair was cut stylishly and gelled up in messy yet perfect spikes.

As was common with Ember, first came annoyance then a raging fire of anger took over. With eyes practically flaming she stomped towards the stationary car, fists clenched. Taylor and Shelby rushed to walk beside her, dodging around a group of people.

"You've got some nerve! I oughta rip you a new one!" She leaned into the car through the window, dangerously close to the man's face. He grinned at her charmingly and she was briefly reminded of Cody.

Shelby had a hold of her bag, trying in vain to pull her back.

"I thought you might need a ride," he replied.

"I don't need a ride from you," she growled and pulled her bag out of Shelby's hand. She grabbed her keys and searched through them furiously.

"I also thought I should tell you that it's unsafe to ride a bike without a helmet," he continued with his face occupied by a cocky grin, oblivious to what she was planning. He rambled on and on about what she did wrong in the situation and how she could have easily avoided him had she taken the right actions. "And really, a bicyclist is supposed to ride on the shoulder of the road…" he continued, oblivious to her actions.

Ember stood strait and studied the side of the car, taking a second to admire the nice and glossy looking paint job, it was sad she was about to ruin it. She had never actually keyed a car before in her life, but she had certainly been the victim of it. Ember had made many enemies in high school.

"And I wanted to apologize."

This was different. His voice was softer and hesitant and when she met his eyes they were pleading for forgiveness.

She paused, allowing her anger the chance to dwindle. "There was an emergency and I was in a hurry, my friend was in trouble…" he trailed off.

Ember sighed and glanced back at her best friends, studying their faces, and tried to figure out there opinions on the matter based on nothing but the looks they were giving her. Taylor was wearing a disapproving look, which meant she didn't think the guy deserved it just because he came up with an excuse that could easily be a lie. On the other hand, Shelby had an excited look, probably just because the guy was attractive. She rolled her eyes and turned back to him and gazed into his eyes thoughtfully. The heat beat down on her as she rolled the idea of forgiveness around in her mind. From behind the stingray a line of cars waited impatiently—a horn blared.

"I understand," she said quietly. "Since I'm not dead I guess it's ok." Her shoulders slumped forward in defeat or acceptance and her eyes dropped to her boots. She was reminded that there will always be more to a situation than what is first seen, and that one should never jump to conclusions, just like her father had always told her. She felt like she had just been lectured. Which just pissed her off.

"Humans can be hurt so easily," he commented sadly, pulling her out of her thoughts.

Ember's eyes lifted to take him in before leaning forward into the car with a grin, "About that ride…" As if in answer he leaned over and unlocked the car door. Ember stepped back and allowed Taylor and Shelby to squeeze into the backseat. It was really only there for looks, not to seat actual passengers, Taylor stated just as Ember slid into the shotgun seat. Cool air was blasting, forcing out the heat of the day. Ember pulled the door shut with a satisfying 'thunk'.

"Wow." She commented and glanced around at the interior. "It still has the new car smell." She forced back the intensely awkward atmosphere without a second thought. Sensing this, the man seemed to relax.

"You can call me Sides." he pushed the vehicle forward, slowly.

"That's a weird ass name, are you related to that Ratchet guy?" Ember stated dryly.

'Sides' seemed to tense back up and he let out a nervous chuckle.

"That Tim guy is weird too, he looks like he should have a more epic name," she continued in the same tone.

"You mean that guy who was at the party?" Shelby asked. "He had a nice bod, I bet he works out." Shelby acquired a dreamy expression.

"Is that the only thing you ever notice about a guy?" Taylor questioned.

"Yes," Shelby stated in a ridiculously deep voice.

Ember looked back at the elfish girl in confusion as if she had just realized something, "wait a minute, he was never AT the party."

"I was watching through the peephole," she admitted quietly. Taylor leaned away from Shelby and Ember scrunched her eyebrows together in a mixture of worry, concern, and annoyance.

"The hell…?" Now that she thought back on it, Cody had come out at just the right moment, Shelby must have called for him when she looked about ready to pass out. She caught Sides out of the corner of her eye and was surprised to find him shaking with laughter.

"Yes, I know them, we work for the same…company," he finished lamely and cleared his throat, attempting to rid himself of the chortles that threatened to escape.

Outside people were watching the car drive by in curiosity and awe. By now they were at the last parking lot, deep into the park, and as close to the concert a person could get without leaving the road. Sides pulled into a space and shut the engine off. Ahead of them a steady stream of people trickled by and joined the massive crowed out on the field of grass in front of a large stage.

"I've never been to a concert," Sides stated simply. Taylor and Shelby gasped, Ember stared at him like he had grown a second head, and Sides was left feeling like he had said something horribly wrong.

"You poor child," Ember said. She placed a hand on his shoulder as if to comfort him a blinked, feeling a familiar static.

"Can we go now?" Taylor asked impatiently from the backseat. Her legs had fallen asleep minutes ago and she could feel nothing but pins and needles.

"Huh? Oh, sure," Ember mumbled and opened the door. She slid out of the seat and smacked right into an annoyed Cody who stood with his arms crossed around the towel he had stolen. He glanced at Sides then back at Ember. Something was off with Ember, she was suddenly hanging out with all kinds of men that he didn't know, and this awakened a protective and slightly over reactive side of him.

"Who's this?" he asked, a polite smile plastered across his face.

"Cody, meet the ass wipe that hit me last week. Sides, this is Cody." Blunt and to the point as usual, Ember moved around him and headed for the field, leaving Cody to stare at Sides. The two shrugged awkwardly at each other.

Taylor and Shelby climbed out just before Sides locked the doors. They followed Ember and stepped onto the springy grass excitedly. Cody and Sides remained a safe distance a part from each other and avoided eye contact like the plague.

In the words of one wise college student, 'this is that awkward moment….'

"Cody, Sides has never been to a concert before," Taylor broke the silence that stagnated amongst the group was they tromped over the vegetation.

"What?" A dramatic gasp followed by a pitying pat on the back broke the awkward tension between the two. The simplicity in which the situation was remedied left Ember rolling her eyes. Sides only laughed.

**A/N: The cleaning scene would make such a perfect montage XD**


	6. Let's See How Far We've Come

**Kind of Edited, I actually really liked this one :D**

**A/N: Super duper sorry for any mistakes in here, my laptop has a huge crack through the screen and it makes it hard to read stuff poor thing, I was so upset when I found it to be broken. Anyways, this chapter is where the action starts, so yaaaaaaay. Lol.**

**Happy that I got some people to review :D I'm glad you like this story so far guys.**

It was too bright to see the stars.

Ember stared up at the sky, amazed that the lights from the concert were able to blacken the sky so completely. She was surrounded by people, but most closely were her good friends. And Sides of course, but she didn't really know him all that well. It had cooled off immensely since the sun had sunk down below the horizon, which gave the fans a chance to recuperate after the heat. The air was heavy with the smell of cigarette smoke and what she could only assume was weed, but a breeze had kicked up by then and it wafted the smell away from her. She could barely hear Shelby shouting something at Cody, the music was so loud. She could only guess at what was said, but Cody looked genuinely offended which only made Ember laugh.

Her friends were one of the few things she was truly grateful for. Standing there on the grassy field listening to awesomely loud music performed by an amazingly epic band, she felt like it was the perfect moment, just because they were there with her. Her three friends had been there for her when she was at her worst, utterly lost and confused about where to go in life, and at her best, when she had her own place with a job while going to school. They had been with her throughout her school years and all the horribly embarrassing memories that they entailed and they were still there now. She didn't know it then, but she would soon see how utterly loyal they could really be when she needed them the most.

Cody turned to Sides and started talking to him. He had to lean close and shout for the new kid to hear what he was saying. He pointed at Shelby and Ember realized he was repeating what she had said. Sides laughed and Cody pouted before shooting a glare at Shelby who stuck her tongue out at him. Sides smacked Cody in the back and continued to laugh.

On stage the band was just finishing up with the current song. Ember took the chance to sip from her bottled water before offering it to Taylor, who took it happily. She glanced over at Sides, who, up until this point had been participating in the usual concert activities (such as screaming, jumping, and applauding). Now, however, he had a look of concern on his face; eyebrows scrunched together, nose wrinkled in an adorable way and head cocked as if he were listening to something.

The next song had started while Ember wondered if Sides was ok. He had turned his head away from her, sensing that she had been looking at him, and when he turned back he looked determined. His eyes were hard and cold as he gazed into hers.

"I have to go." Simple and sweet.

"What? Why?" Ember questioned. Something was obviously wrong; she just hoped it was nothing serious. Cody glanced back over his shoulder at the two in puzzlement.

"My friend needs my help," he replied curtly. A kind of annoyance entered his voice and Ember shifted her wait onto one leg. Seeing this, Cody grew interested and turned around to tune into the conversation.

"That's pretty vague, but no one's stopping you," she herself was slightly annoyed. How could he know his friends needed help when he didn't even talk to anyone, or even glance at a cell phone?

"You're leaving?" Cody sounded disappointed. Sides gave him a short nod. Cody sighed. "All right man, see you later then," he was attempting to save the poor guy from Embers wrath. He lifted a fist and waited, Sides stared at him blankly. "Fist bump?" Cody prompted.

"Oh!" Sides bumped fists with him before turning and hurrying away to be swallowed by the crowed.

Cody watched his new found friend go before slowly turning his eyes to Ember, who was still gazing after Sides. After a few seconds she glanced at him in irritation. "What?"

"Why are you such an angry bitch all the time?" he sounded serious, but the impish grin on his face contradicted his tone.

"Dumbass," she swatted him upside the head and laughed when she knocked his hat off and he had to dive after it.

…

The concert was over before they knew it. Sadly, and a bit reluctantly, they began the long trek through the park. Now that they didn't have a nice guy with an equally, if not more, car to give them a ride, it would probably take them half an hour to get back to Ember's car. Said vehicle, an old beat up 69 corvette stingray, was sitting innocently in a parking lot across the street from the park.

Ember muttered darkly under her breath and sneezed. Now that she wasn't surrounded by a crowd, the chilly night air was enveloping her and causing her to shiver. She hopelessly wrapped one of their towels they had used to sit on around her shoulders.

"Well, that was fun," Taylor spoke cheerfully.

"So tired," Shelby answered.

"And cold," Ember added.

"Suck it up! We got another two miles to go, so pick up the pace hoes!" Cody cried. The few people who were actually walking along the road as well glanced at him in annoyance. Car headlights illuminated their path as they drove by carrying sleepy passengers who were either going home or going to the nearest bar.

"Shut up, the only ho here is you," Taylor replied.

"I resent that," Cody puffed up his chest and Shelby snickered.

"No, you resemble that," Ember stated.

Cody shot a strange look in her direction while Taylor and Shelby laughed. _'He really is a man slut,'_ she thought. Just the other day he had slept with some random girl he had met at Taylor's party. He'd burst into their apartment with the biggest, goofiest grin on his face and sat on the couch without saying a word. Ember had smacked him upside the head then too. That poor girl would never hear from him and they all knew it. Cody could be nice at times, but he couldn't hide it from his closest friends, he was a bastard, through and through. Or in this case, in and out.

"Ha ha," he replied dryly. He kicked at a rock and shoved his hands into his pockets huffily.

The last of the cars passed them just then and they were left in darkness. The trees and bushes blocked out the moonlight. Instinctively, they drew closer and walked a bit faster while trying to keep up the playful banter.

"It's not like I'm in love with them," Cody muttered. He walked beside Ember while Taylor and Shelby moved on ahead. Ember raised a brow.

"Honestly, I don't know if that makes it better or worse." She said. Sliding her hands into her pockets to keep them warm; her bare legs were already numb.

Cody hunched his shoulders and his eyes fell to the ground. He kicked at another rock, scattering gravel as he did so. A trail of frost escaped from his mouth in a sigh. Ember looked away. Only he could appear so innocent and sad when he was anything but. They fell into an awkward silence that was only broken by the occasional laugh from Taylor or Shelby who were still ahead of them.

Ember snorted, unable to comprehend Cody's personality. He was a man ho, slept with every girl he could get, yet he got depressed whenever the topic of relationships was brought up. She had called him Charlie Sheen once when they were arguing and the little slut had thanked her with a smile! She glowered at Cody openly but he seemed not to notice.

While she was buried in her thoughts they had reached the exit. The small group stepped out onto the sidewalk and glanced around. Ember moved away from Cody and headed for a crosswalk with Taylor and Shelby trailing after her. Shelby picked up on the atmosphere and nudged the otherwise oblivious Taylor. She gestured back at Cody who was bringing up the end. Taylor blinked and glanced up at Embers back. The two shrugged.

Ember pushed the button at the crosswalk and sighed, watching her breath appear in front of her. Her mind was elsewhere while she waited for the light to change, it was elsewhere when they walked across the faded white painting that marked the crossing, and her mind was elsewhere when they passed alleyways to get to the parking lot. But it was, most certainly, where it should be when Shelby screamed.

Ember hadn't really realized what they had been staring at because she was so engrossed in her thoughts. In fact, the small group had been standing at the entrance to an alley watching on in horror (besides Ember) as a huge hulking form shifted into existence.

The police car had rolled forward, and then it suddenly jerked and split into segments that folded in on themselves. Gears whirled and clicked while the sound of previously compressed air escaping reached their ears. Things twisted and moved aside to make way for other parts. Armor moved to cover vulnerable joints and cables while sickeningly red optics came online.

That was around when Shelby screamed. The three other humans turned to stare at her as she guiltily covered her mouth. But it was too little too late, the damage had been done, and now those blood red lights that represented eyes were turned to them.

"Fuck!" Cody hissed.

It moved, taking a step forward, and they were shocked at its amount of grace for something so large. They were actually amazed; the idea of running hadn't quite entered their brains yet. And then it growled and lunged for them.

"Go!" Cody shouted.

They didn't just run, they sprinted. Running for your life was kind of thrilling in a way. You never really know how fast you can move your ass until your pumping your legs with the thought of survival being the soul occupation of your mind. In fact, had Ember not feared for her life, she probably would have been laughing.

Needless to say, with their feet slapping against the pavement, their chests heaving for air, and no clear destination in mind, the close friends were in quite a pickle. There was no one else around, the streets being strangely empty of other civilians. Behind them, the behemoth was in quick pursuit. Sparks flew where its feet slid across pavement.

"The fuck is that thing?" Ember shouted.

"Who gives a shit? Just run!" Shelby shouted back.

"You got it!" With their systems alive with adrenalin, they were moving pretty fast. But behind them, the growling snarling robot grew ever closer.

"Get back here!" It was a deep metallic voice filled with menace and the promise of pain.

"It talks?" Taylor cried in exasperation.

"Guess so, turn here," Cody pulled them down an ally that looked like a dead end, but there was a sharp left turn, doubling back the way that had come. They hurtled over trashcans and bags before coming to a stop in the dark corridor. They crouched behind a dumpster gasping for breath. The ground was wet and caked in dirt and filth from years of trash.

"Damn, my cells not working," Ember stated. Cody glanced at his and saw he had no bars; there was even a cute little SOS at the top. He scowled at the accuracy.

"Neither is mine," Taylor added.

"Ok, maybe we can find a payphone." Ember glanced around at the others, "But we need to call someone before 911." They stared at her like she had grown a second head.

"Who are you gonna call, your mom?" Shelby asked with desperate sarcasm.

"No!" Ember growled annoyed that Shelby would even think to joke at that moment.

"Let's go then." Cody stood and pulled Ember to her feet, dragging her behind him. Taylor and Shelby had no choice but to follow. They slowed to a stop at the end of the alley and slowly peeked around the corner. The monster was heading right for them, albeit at a much slower pace, as if it knew they had no place to run to. "Go!" Cody whispered.

"What? No way!" Ember hissed back.

"There's a payphone right over there," he gestured to a bank across the street, "We'll distract him so you can make the calls."

"Excuse me?" Shelby sounded a bit offended about being pulled into the plan without her consent. Cody ignored her.

"We'll lead him away." He finished.

Feeling the weight of responsibility settle on her shoulders, Ember nodded silently. Cody urged Shelby and Taylor forward, counting to three just loud enough for them to hear.

"3."

They leapt out of the alley and out into the open and immediately gained the robot's attention. Cody however, put in a bit more effort when he called it a 'fuggly son of a bitch'. It snarled and flexed its metallic talons and crouched down, close to the ground. Taylor cried out, thinking it was going to pounce on them, but it shifted back into the police car from before with the tires hitting the ground with a dull thud. The engine revved loudly, sounding like a battle cry, and the tires spun, spitting up smoke from friction.

"Time to go!" Shelby shouted and pushed the two forward. They ran down the street away from the bank with a payphone out front, their way lit by the streetlamps.

The police car tore after them, tires squealing against pavement.

She was shocked, for a moment, by the courage her friends had shown. Her eyes watered dangerously, not out of fear or frustration, but out of pride. She was proud to be friends with people who, when the situation called for it, would take charge.

Ember leaned out of the alley just in time to see her friends rush down another alley, too small for the car to fit through. It turned down the next road, attempting to cut them off. The sudden silence left Ember feeling stunned, like someone had just pressed mute on her life remote. She shook her head and lunged forward into a sprint. She felt like a rabbit caught in an open field, not knowing when the monster robot would be back or worse, how long her friends could run. She stopped only when she was at the payphone and hurriedly sifted through her purse looking for change. When her shaky fingers pushed the last of silver coins into the machine she nearly ripped the phone off the receiver before pulling out the crumpled slip of paper with Tim's number on it. She clumsily punched in the numbers on the silver keypad and waited with baited breath while the phone rang. There were some strange noises that reminded her of the old days when you had to connect to the internet through the phone lines and you couldn't make a call when you were on.

There was a click and then, "Hello?"

The voice was not Tim's in the sense that it was much deeper and sounded almost computerized. Her blood ran cold and she fought the shiver that clawed at her spine. Paranoia stirred in her heart and for a second she wondered if Tim was one of them. She rolled her eyes and banished the thought.

"It's Ember." Her voice was just as shaky as her hands.

"Is this an emergency?" He sounded concerned but also stern and if not a bit distracted.

"Yeah, uhh…" she trailed off, still trying to catch her breath, "Does being chased by a giant sinister looking robot with a mean temper count?" Off in the distance she heard an explosion and she turned, expecting to see flames and hoping that her friends were okay. She grabbed hold of the side of the payphone and stared down at the dirty concrete, feeling like her heart was going to explode right out of her chest.

"I'm on my way." His reply was curt and militant in tone. She was reminded of Sides and how he had suddenly changed back at the concert.

"Make it fast." The line went dead. She let out a worried sigh. _'What do I do now?'_ she wondered. Did she wait for Tim, or go after her friends? Her eyes fell to her white knuckled grip on the payphone and narrowed. She dropped the phone and ran. Following the path she had seen them take only moments before.

She charged down the alley and smacked her hip on a trashcan; it tipped and spilled its contents into her path, which she promptly hurtled over. Running between the tall brick buildings with her lungs aching harshly for air, she decided that, when she found her friends, she would never let them out of her sight again. In front of her was the exit.

Ember stepped into the circle of a streetlamp just in time to see Cody move in front of Taylor and Shelby to protect them. They were cornered against the wall of the movie theater, the robot stood in front of them, some kind of canon pointed at them. No time to think.

"Hey! Fuck face!" The thing turned and glowered at her (how she knew it was glowering was beyond her, the metallic plates on his face just meshed together in a really scary looking way) and turned away from her friends, she quirked an eyebrow, seriously questioning the things intelligence. Behind it, Cody was ushering Shelby and Taylor away, leading them into an alley. Confidence came with the knowledge that she could help her friends escape. She placed her hands on her hips and glowered right back. "The fuck is your problem?"

"Shut your mouth you insolent organic." It jerked its arm and the canon shifted and started to glow.

"Oooh, big words for such a dumbass. Careful, I think I see smoke." She taunted. Obviously the smoke bit had struck a nerve because it snarled and came for her, its canon pointed at her.

Ember ran back the way she had come and was suddenly overcome with laughter. The insane thought that the robot was a giant stumbling monster while they were small and agile reminded her of 'Tom and Jerry', in a sense; it was still a game of cat and mouse. Behind her she heard it tear at the building walls, frustrated that it couldn't reach her and driven into a rage by her grating laughter. The fact that it was trying to go through the alley rather than going around like it had done before bought her some time that she was thankful for. When she stepped out into the street again she ran into the first random person she had seen for a while.

"You should probably run," she panted. The guy gave her a strange look, as if she were crazy. There was another explosion and the nearest building collapsed, sending huge clouds of dust and debris into the air. "I warned you." The middle aged man turned and ran. Ember watched him go and glanced back over her shoulder before crossing the street and going to crouch behind a parked car.

She clenched her hand into fists and pulled her knees to her chest. She could hear the thing pushing its way through the fallen building; Chunks of brick and cement crumbling while it muttered darkly. The sound of its feet hitting the street, loud, mechanic, and so utterly foreign, scared her more than she would care to admit. In that moment, she honestly wished for some sound advice from her mom, a confident woman who knew exactly what to do in just about any situation.

It was close, she noted, just feet from the car. "There you are."

She froze and tilted her head back. She found nothing but the blazing embers that were its eyes. It pointed its canon at her and fired.

Suddenly, the world was nothing but chaos. There was the sound of an explosion, so close that Ember's hearing was gone. The smell of burnt rubber and metal was strong. The heat was suffocating. And the force threw her several feet into the air. She hit something hard and landed on the cement ground with the wind knocked out of her. Unable to breath, deaf, and completely confused as to what had just happened, Ember lay still.

The next thing she knew, there was another hulking figure crouched over her. Fear and adrenaline raced through her again and she struggled to climb to her feet. The ringing in her ears was beginning to recede while she stumbled back, falling off the curb and landing on her back in the street. She got a full view of a new robot, this one a bit bigger and yellow with a bit of red in the arms. She stared into vivid blue optics and gulped.

It said something, but whatever she heard was so muffled that she couldn't make out a single word. It turned its gaze away from her and said something again. Abruptly, hands were hauling her onto her feet and pulling her away from the new robot. She stumbled and nearly face planted, feeling pain erupt in her right shoulder. Her vision spun and she saw army boots and camouflage pants. Progressively, she became aware of the blood that was trickling down the side of her face, her scraped and bloodied palms and knees, and the sharp throbbing in her head.

"Come on, move!" It was the first words she heard since the explosion and it left her ears ringing. It was a harsh male voice filled with frustration and worry.

Hands grabbed at her again and she cried out when one pulled roughly on her right arm. She staggered and whoever was trying to get her to move steadied her. The pain was horrible and left her gasping and seeing stars, she was ashamed when tears spilled down her cheeks and her hair was too sticky with sweat and blood to cover her face and hide them.

"You've got to move sweetie, we're in the way." The voice was kinder now. The soldier, for that's what he was, crouched down next to her and wrapped her left arm around his neck and lifted her into his arms. She hazily wondered who they were in the way of and remembered looking over the man's shoulder and seeing the red eyed robot standing warily, fists clenched, between two other robots.

They were really amazing, she realized then, and intimidating as any godly behemoth should be. They were so complex in design, so much so that it was hard to absorb all of them at once. Cords, cables, and pieces of machinery were intertwined throughout their whole body, creating a frame for their armor to rest upon, grand and gleaming (or scratched and dented). It was just too much, she decided, for her mind to take in at the moment. So, instead, she lifted her eyes to the face of the robot that stood in front of the evil one and stared. Blue eyes, not like the foul tempered robot she had spent the majority of the last hour running from.

As the soldier who was carrying her turned around the corner of the bank where Ember had made the phone call from minutes before, she wondered briefly why the glaring paint job on his armor looked so damn familiar.


	7. Poker Face

**A/N: Not to happy with this chapter. It was really boring to write and it got kind of confusing to me there for a second, lolz. Sorry if it's choppy and some things aren't explained well; let's just blame it on Ember being disoriented and stoof. Sorry for the mistake last chapter, I wrote that the new bot was a green color; it is now changed to yellow. Sorry for any mistakes, the crack spread some so I can see even less now. :/ **

**Wow, that was a lot of apologizing XD I saw the other day that someone else had a character in their TF fic named Ember and I felt kind of bad plus annoyed even though they used it first, lol, so sorry about that too. I like the name Ember though, in fact, I wish my mother had named me Ember.**

**Warning: Because my characters are slightly stupid, there is an inappropriate conversation later in this chapter. If you feel uncomfortable yada yada yada, whatever, you guys are gonna read it no matter what your age or maturity. Lol.**

**Anyways, on with the story!**

It was a fact; Ember now officially had a phobia for cars, and any other vehicle for that matter. Being hit by a car was bad enough, but being chased by a giant evil robot disguised as one was even worse.

She was sitting on the back bumper of a familiar rescue hummer, feet dangling over the pavement, nursing her throbbing shoulder and wincing while a man she didn't know stitched the cut on her temple shut. It was nearly midnight. The entire city block had been closed down, the streets barricaded by yellow tape and black fences. Military men were everywhere; talking into headsets, giving orders, and collecting any civilians that had witnessed the event (which there were very few of despite the concert). There was quite an assortment of exotic vehicles parked off to the side that Ember was pretty suspicious of, to the point that she wouldn't turn her back to them.

Strangely enough, other than the two police cars stationed at both ends of the street, there were no cops. Of course, when she thought about it, it made perfect sense. There were no cops because this was way above them, this was way beyond a crime; this was government business.

Ember didn't know much about the government. She never really cared to pay attention other than to vote for a president. So she was drawing on her knowledge she had obtained from movies to come to the conclusion that this was going to have a permanent effect on her life. Speaking of that, her thoughts turned to her friends and their safety. She had not seen them since she had pulled the robots attention away from them so they could escape. She wasn't too worried, Cody could take care of them…Ok, Shelby could take care of them.

"Ow!" Ember hissed in pain. The man apologized and tugged on the thread before cutting.

Off in the distance there had been the distant sound of explosions and crashes until just then, when they suddenly cut off. A strange kind of triumphant silence settled over all the people around them. Ember turned her attention back to the paramedic in front of her.

"I'm going to have to look at your shoulder next." He reached for her and she casually slid to the other side of the emergency vehicle. His brown eyes narrowed in a kind of dark understanding and, had it been someone else in the situation, Ember would have laughed. She wasn't going to go down without a fight.

"I can take care of it."

They both turned to look at the dark haired British man in surprise, but for two very different reasons. The paramedic blanched and glanced over at Ember curiously.

"Yes sir." He left hesitantly, looking over his shoulder once before moving on to take care of other people.

"What are you, like, the head doctor or something? He seemed scared." Ember snickered as Ratchet approached her and examined her shoulder attentively.

"Something like that," He replied. Ember scowled at ANOTHER vague response. "You seem to have a knack for getting into trouble." The comment was a bit low in Ember's opinion; she had been minding her own business on both accounts of "trouble" as Ratchet called them.

"Guess I'm just popular." She shrugged and laughed when Ratchet gave her a stern look.

"Yes, well, your popularity is hazardous to your health." Ratchet retorted.

"Touché. You have much skill in the art of comebacks," Ember stated. Ratchet didn't reply. He was staring at the stitch on her temple with unfocused eyes. Confused, Ember raised a questioning brow.

"Hey Ember!" the voice was cheery but a bit out of breath. Sides appeared from out of the blue and waved.

"Si-OW!" she cried out the moment she heard the sickening pop of her shoulder being twisted back into place. Stars appeared in her vision and she held her breath, trying to ease the pain.

"Relax," Ratchet ordered. Ember shook her head in response and leaned forward till her head touched her knees. "Thank you SideSwipe, the distraction was useful." Ratchet turned to the spiky haired young man almost casually.

"I came because you called; I didn't know anything about Ember being here you jerk." Sides looked at Ember with a saddened expression. "Sorry Em," he crouched down in front of her just as Ratchet smacked him upside the head. Sides shot a scowl in his direction.

"Watch it or next time you need maintenance…" he let the threat hang in the air and Sides hunched his shoulders.

Ember pulled herself together and straitened. Still a bit woozy from earlier she leaned against the open door of the ambulance and stared down at the ground. Questions were swirling around in her head, demanding to be answered, but she was honestly too confused to even bother opening her mouth. She ignored the two men that were bickering in front of her and closed her eyes, fighting against the pounding headache that had yet to go away.

"Are you cold?" Ratchet questioned her several minutes later. Sides was gone, having left minutes before after being thoroughly chewed out by the irritated Ratchet.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, it is kind of chilly now that I think about it," she mumbled.

Ratchet reached into the vehicle and pulled out a blanket that he wrapped around her shoulders carefully. Ember didn't mind the scratchy fabric, just glad to be a bit warmer. Amongst all of the action she had forgotten how cold it was. She glanced at her purse that rested in her lap and smirked, she was amazed she hadn't lost it, unlike the towel she had been using earlier. He handed her a couple a pills that she took without question, hoping to lessen the pain.

"We'll be wrapping this up soon," Ratchet said. "I'm afraid you won't be going home tonight though."

"I figured….Have you seen my friends?" she asked.

Ratchet stared blankly at her before sighing and rubbing at his eyes. "Yes, they are currently being held in one of the NEST trucks. You'll see them soon enough." Ember scowled at his response, why couldn't she see them now?

"What the hell is NEST?" she asked. For some reason, her poor addled brain supplied her with a picture of Nesquik. "I want hot chocolate now." She said sadly.

"I'll get right on that," Ratchet said with much sarcasm.

"You're a lot like House, has anyone ever told you this?" Ember questioned. She rubbed at her shoulder and pulled her knees up to her chest hesitantly.

"Why yes, they have. Thanks for the input." Ember was just beginning to wonder why he wasn't going off to treat someone else; surely she hadn't been the only one hurt in the incident? And if she was, then, that honestly sucked.

"Can't I just go see my friends?" She asked in exasperation. She dropped her legs back to the ground and crossed her arms.

"No," he answered with a bit of warning in his tone. He also wore a wary expression, half expecting the women to start throwing a fit of some kind. He absently picked up one of her hands and scanned her bloodied palms. Ember watched as he pulled a pair of tweezers from nowhere it seemed, and carefully extracted rubble from the wound.

"Why not?" She was growling with annoyance and Ratchet deliberately yanked out a particularly painful piece of splintered wood in return. She winced and stared down at the offended limb with a sigh. The adrenaline had long since worn off and she was just beginning to feel her knees turn to jelly and her shaking hands to start up again but at least her headache was fading. She had no doubt what her nightmares were going to be about for the rest of her life.

"Because 'Tim'," he emphasized the name, "would like to speak to you."

"Agh!" She groaned and slumped back against the ambulance again. She glanced over her shoulder as the light inside flickered, throwing the equipment into a deep shadow. "Your ambulance agrees with me," she muttered. Almost immediately she wished she hadn't, now her muddled brain started providing her images of the rescue vehicle turning into a robot too. She looked at the yellow paint job and narrowed her eyes. She felt another shiver wrack her body, but not from the cold, before she slid off the bumper and onto the ground.

Ratchet briefly looked over her shoulder at the vehicle before turning his eyes to her other hand, determined to finish his task. "You don't need to worry, your safe now." He stated. He moved around Ember, still holding her hand so that his back was to the ambulance. "Stay here," he ordered before climbing into the brightly lit interior.

Ember felt a bit lost, standing on her own in the midst of all the commotion, although it seemed to be dying down a bit. Her eyes wondered over the forms of the soldiers, admiring the expressions they wore. Normally when you see guys in camo you think of stern faced generals, but they were wearing excited grins and looks of admiration as they ran to and fro.

"The big guy was pretty epic today." She heard one man's remark to another as they walked by.

"Pfft, IronHide was way cooler. Did you see that last move he pulled on that Decepticon?" The other shot back.

Ember was confused, it sounded like they were talking about some kind of game. And another weird name had popped up, although, the military was known for nicknames. Were they talking about the other two robots she had seen? They had had blue eyes she remembered, not red. Red must mean that the first robot was a 'Decepticon'.

Her eyes were drawn to the left when she heard arguing. A group of men were heading in her direction and the soldiers parted for them to get through. In the center of it all was a frustrated looking Tim.

"You can't just do that Optimus, this is a secret operations team. Bringing civilians into our affairs is strictly out of the question, in fact, I think it was the first thing that was discussed." The one who was talking appeared to be a younger male, probably in his early thirties, with short dirty blond hair and blue eyes. He was dressed in similar clothing to the rest of the men that surrounded Ember.

"Prime aint stupid! He knows what he's doing. If he felt the need to bring her into this then I'll stand by his decision." This was a tall man Ember would probably label a 'Biker Dude'. He was well toned, bald, and had on dark jeans and a black t-shirt. Ember scrunched her face up in confusion, Tim, Ratchet, and Sides were all wearing normal clothes too. And why were those two calling Tim 'Optimus' and 'Prime'?

"Of Course you would, IronHide, you have to!" The younger man ran a hand over his face with a groan. "They're going to have a field day with this. Not even half a year old and NEST is going to get shut down."

Suspicion wiggled into her brain. He had just called the bald man IronHide but even though he looked tough, how could he possibly take on an evil robot?

"IronHide, Lennox is correct. It is I who is in the wrong; however, clearly my wrong has proven useful this time around." Tim explained in a very kind and understanding tone that left 'IronHide' speechless and Lennox satisfied. "I only hope that it will not be this team's downfall."

Ember raised a questioning brow when the trio stopped in front of her. She must have looked quite a sight for sore eyes because Lennox grimaced in sympathy. She glanced down on her bandaged shoulder awkwardly. "Soooo, what's new?"

Ratchet decided to jump down from the back of the ambulance then, holding a sling in one hand and a disinfectant in the other. He barely spared the new arrivals a glance before turning back to Ember. He instructed her to hold out both hands and as she did so he sprayed them with the disinfectant. The stinging pain was enough to make her hiss and blow on her hands in a vain attempt to stop the burning. Ratchet, however, chose to ignore this and continued to spray it on her shredded knees before swiftly throwing the sling over her head, working around the blanket she was holding on to, and lifting the arm of the sore shoulder into it. All the while Ember wondered what the heck was going on and wishing that someone would sit her down and explain everything.

"Ember, are you unharmed?" Tim asked as soon as Ratchet had stepped aside.

"Meh, I'm alive," she replied with a shrug. She heard Ratchet snort and she glared at him.

"Once again, you were lucky." Ratchet shut the door to the rescue hummer and turned back to face the group.

"I seem to be lucky often, anyone got a lottery ticket?" She shot back with her left hand on her hip and her feet spread. Her irritable mood flared up under the stress of the last couple of hours.

"Well one of these days you're luck will run out," Ratchet warned darkly.

"Yeah, and I'll die. So what? Everyone goes eventually." She growled and adjusted her blanket in annoyance.

An awkward silence fell over the group and Ember scowled. These people were starting to piss her off with all their vague answers and superior attitude. They came into her life out of nowhere and she knew absolutely nothing about them. Although, she was glad they had been around to save her ass from that decepti-thing, however, her patience was wearing thin, she just wanted to get back to her slightly miserable life in peace.

"Ember!" the shout came from behind her and she was suddenly attacked with a hug. She groaned, feeling pain shoot through her shoulder. Cody had appeared and was embracing her with all the grace of an elephant. "I'm so glad you're ok, I thought you died! You could have been squished or blown to pieces. I was so worried and Shelby kept calling me horrible names that just didn't sound as good as yours and Taylor kept hitting me!" He took a deep breath, about to continue his rant.

"Shut Up!" She lashed out with a foot and caught him between the legs. There was a pause in which everyone tried to comprehend what had just happened and Cody fell to his knees with his forehead resting against the blacktop. "Jeez. Do you ever stop talking?" She wondered how he had managed to find his way to her.

"Sometimes," Cody wheezed out.

"Get off the ground you assmunch, you and I both know you don't have enough balls for that to hurt." She nudged him with her boot but he only groaned.

The four men stared at the scene in astonishment and sympathy.

"I'm not fixing that," Ratchet stated. IronHide raised a brow and laughed.

After that, the two civilians were whisked away into a truck where they found Taylor and Shelby waiting in the windowless back. They were told by a soldier to remain quiet until they reached HQ (they didn't) and not to worry, that everything would be taken care of quickly (they doubted it). The ride was long and filled with one of the most random and inappropriate conversations anyone in that vehicle had ever heard and it was thanks to Shelby who opened her mouth and just had to ask, "Would an alien robot have a penis?"

Taylor face palmed, hard. Cody laughed. Ember snickered and shook her head. And the two soldiers up front both took on horrified faces. They were no doubt scarred for life, but despite that, the one in the passenger seat pulled out his phone and searched through is menu for the recorder. He was young and had the look of a hotheaded prankster about him.

"I don't know, why don't you ask one?" Ember replied. She later wished she had never opened her mouth.

"Who said they were aliens?" Cody asked.

"Please! Like we could come up with something that awesome?" Taylor asked.

"I see your point," Cody agreed.

"No, I think they would have plugs and outlets…no wait, USB ports." Taylor looked at Shelby with a knowledgeable expression.

"Hmm, that would make more sense," Shelby agreed while rubbing her chin thoughtfully, as if she had a beard.

"What if they get an STV?" Cody asked curiously. They all burst out laughing and even the men up front snickered.

The dark interior that would have been filled with worried and gloomy people on any other day was filled with laughter and immature comments. The stiff leather seats had probably never felt so comfortable to the newer NEST recruits.

At one point the truck pulled to a stop and the two soldiers up front left. Soon after Cody exclaimed they were flying. They all gave him strange looks, but he explained that he meant they were flying in a plane. Now that they were made aware of the fact, the three girls felt the strange feeling of take off. Ember's ears popped.

….

Ember sat at a metal table in a room bare of any other furniture besides the chair she sat on. Grey linoleum floor and white painted cinderblock walls were illuminated by a single bulb that hung from the ceiling above her head. Directly in front of her was a mirror, and, had she been a complete dunce, she would have thought it was just that. No, she was convinced that she was having a staring contest with someone, and nothing would distract her from it.

Just then the door opened and a plate of donuts was placed in front of her. She was distracted.

She couldn't remember the last time she had eaten (that morning) it had been so long. Her stomach growled loudly, causing the man who now stood in front of her to reach over and nudge the plate closer to her. He did it hesitantly, as if he feared she would bite.

This was the third man to come into the room. The other two had asked her some rather strange questions about her life and personal habits. Had she ever done drugs? Did she have any diseases or any conditions? Yada yada. She had grown bored of it about five minutes into the first question. Anyways, he was wearing a black suit with nice dress shoes, his head was balding and his eyes were a piercing grey.

"My name is Anthony; I'll be interviewing you about the events that have taken place since you first came into contact with 'Tim'." He cleared his throat and flipped through a manila folder. Ember reached for a chocolate glazed donut, completely oblivious to what the man was saying. "So, let's start from the beginning shall we." He looked up from the folder and paused, realizing that Ember had not heard a single word he had said because she was so engrossed in stuffing her face.

"Ms. Willows," he called lightly.

Ember looked up with a raised brow. "What?"

"When did you first come into contact with 'Tim'?" Anthony dropped the folder onto the table. It slapped against the metal surface.

'_Uh oh,'_ Ember thought, _'he's going to go into the whole good cop bad cop act.'_ She put down her second (it was actually her third) donut and leaned back in her chair with crossed arms. "About a week ago," she replied tersely.

"Ok, what exactly happened that caused you to come into contact with each other?" He slid his hands into the pockets of his black suit pants, pulling the jacket back just enough to see that he had a gun hanging from his belt. _'Is he serious?'_ she wondered, he was really going the extra mile to intimidate her. She stared at him, amazed by his lack of intelligence.

"I was hit by a car, they stopped to help." She had a feeling that this guy was bad news for Tim and his gang. She glanced beside him and into the mirror, wondering just who was behind the glass; friend or foe?

The man perked up a bit and tilted his head, "What kind of car?"

"I don't know, it was kinda small though. Definitely silver…" she trailed of in thought.

"Was it a corvette by any chance?" Anthony's eye twitched and Ember would have sworn she saw the slightest of smirks at the corner of his mouth.

"Nope!" Anthony frowned. "I remember now, it was a Honda civic! The lady who was driving it had a cell phone!" Her voice was all to cheery, although she was only half acting, the other half was genuinely happy to see the smug look fall off the guys face.

"I see, so where did you get the number to contact 'Tim'?" Again, he stressed the name and that wiggling suspicion returned. She had guessed that Tim wasn't his real name, but now she was certain. And judging by the way everyone was focusing on him, he wasn't your everyday truck driver/military leader.

"He gave it to me and told me to call if there was anything extremely strange and out of the ordinary. I'd actually completely forgotten about it." She realized that there was no way for her to lie completely about everything to this man, but she could certainly cover a few things up. He had started to talk but Ember tuned him out and, instead, glanced down at her nails and blanched, they were chipped and broken. "I'm so gonna kick someone's ass for this," she muttered darkly.

"What was that?" Anthony leaned forward, annoyance lacing his voice, probably thinking she was talking about him.

"My nails, they're destroyed! Jesus, what's with the interrogation anyways? Have I committed a crime? Unless I was drugged I don't recall ever doing such a thing, so back the hell up." Ember snarled and placed her heavy booted feet on the table and re-crossed her arms. She turned her head away from him and snorted.

"You're seriously going to pull this crap?" The middle aged man rubbed his face roughly; obviously it had been a busy night for him and Ember's sudden hissy fit wasn't helping his attitude.

"I am. It's God knows how late and you expect me to co-operate? I almost died! I could be going into shock right now, or bleeding internally, or maybe I'm just really pissy because you jerks won't stop asking me questions." She sighed. "I'm really bored too," she added as an afterthought.

"How did you come into contact with the robot earlier?" Anthony returned to the previous topic and crossed his own arms.

"Through a dating website! How do you think?" This man knew exactly what happened, she realized, he was just waiting for her to slip up and get someone in trouble. "We ran into it on the way home from a concert."

"What do you know about them?" He continued without pause and Ember's fake frustration was boiling up into real frustration quickly.

"Nothing, no one's told me anything," she replied curtly.

"Have they bribed you?"

"No one's bribed me, and who are 'they'?" She clenched her teeth.

"What are they offering you?" Clearly, he didn't believe anything she said.

"Nothing!" She was tempted to say his mom, but then she would have probably gotten into even more trouble and this was bothersome enough.

"How did you know where the Decepticon was?"

"Wrong place, wrong time, just like you're about to be," she stated darkly. She had yet to move an inch from her seat.

"We can bring people in, you know, your friends and family, to get answers out of you." He was leaning with both palms spread on the table, supporting his wait, as close as he could get without actually moving around the table.

"Excuse me?" She narrowed her eyes and tilted her head, as if she hadn't heard him.

"We have the resour-," he was cut off.

"Get out," Ember turned her head away.

"I will-."

"I said GET OUT!" She stood from her seat with clenched fists.

Anthony stepped back with his hands raised in surrender. He picked up the folder and moved to take the plate of donuts as well. "Leave it," Ember ordered. He glanced up and met her eyes, a pause, and he relented; deciding that he would rather leave with all his body parts. The door slammed shut behind him. In all his life he had never feared a woman with one arm in a sling.

Ember kicked at her chair in anger. Infuriated by her own government, she paced the room in an attempt to work off her frustration. Glancing over at the table she stepped over to it and picked up a donut, taking a bite out of it vindictively. As if it had been the cause for all her troubles.

**End A/N: So once again, sorry for my mistakes and the crappy scene where they were flying, I've never been in a plane, no idea what it feels like to take off. **


	8. ET

**A/N: Every time I get a review I get so excited, but then I get worried because it might be a flame XD lol. Needless to say, reviews are wanted. I'm like a puppy, and your reviews are bacon! FEED THE PUPPEH! And in turn I update c: I want to hear your guy's thoughts, opinions, and ideas. The inspiration for this chapter came from the song E.T. by Katy Perry, only because it came on just at the right moment. XP. **

Metal tables could never be more comfortable. Ember sat with her head down, drifting off into a bored sleep. An hour after Anthony had left she had grown annoyed with not understanding what was going on and staying in the empty room made her feel removed from the rest of the world. So she had channeled her inner high schooler and plunked her head down onto the table, intent on ignoring the rest of the world just as it seemed to be ignoring her.

The door opened and someone stepped in. Judging by the sound of the shoes, Ember figured it was a soldier. The heavy footfall sounded similar to her combat boots, but with a bit more of a click to the heel. Definitely miilitary. She stared at the silver surface an inch from her face and sighed.

"Miss?"

Ember lifted her head and blinked blearily, taking in the man in front of her. His face was vaguely familiar and she grinned. "Well if it isn't my hero." The man with crew cut brown hair and kind grey eyes smiled. He seemed a bit older than the rest of the guys in NEST, but then, Ember figured it was more of a military line that required experience.

"That's me," he playfully saluted. "I'm not supposed to say, but I was sent to collect you and take you to your friends." He held the door open invitingly and Ember jumped up happily, glad she was on her way to see her friends again.

"So, NEST likes to be all quiet and on the down low?" Ember questioned. She followed the man down a long white hallway with florescent lights buzzing away overhead.

"Yup." The man gave her the first strait answer she had received in hours and she looked to the heavens thankfully. "My names Jim," he started, "Sorry I didn't introduce myself earlier."

"Oh, that's okay; we were kind of running for our lives." Ember chuckled.

The further they travelled through the hallways, the more soldiers and officials Ember saw rushing about around them. In fact, it got to a point where she had to follow directly behind Jim because the hall was so packed. It was really strange when she concentrated on the different footsteps she heard; the booted military men, the loafers of men in suits, the clacking of women in heals, and even sneakers and sandals. She was honestly beginning to wonder what kind of place they were running when Jim stopped at the end of a hall in front of a metal door.

"Now, normally, I would give you a warning but I honestly think you can take care of yourself." Jim ushered her in through the sliding door with a gentle hand on her back. Ember gave him a curios glance before stepping into a well lit room not to different from the one she had been in except it was much bigger, the table was long and wooden, and it was occupied by her three best friends who were caught up in the middle of a dramatic game of Go Fish.

"Do you have any threes?" Shelby asked Cody who was sitting across from her.

"Go fish," Cody replied smugly.

"Bull Shit!" Shelby cried and threw her cards down.

"We're playing Go Fish," Taylor pointed out while she calmly examined her hand of cards.

"We should be playing slap jack." Ember slid into a seat next to Taylor and took her collection of cards happily.

"Oh hey! We thought they killed you and dropped your body off in a ditch somewhere." Cody took the cards from her, looked at them, and glared at Taylor before adding them to the rest of the collected deck.

"I see you're still a little upset." Ember commented dryly. Cody had been acting fine towards her during the trip over to…wherever they were, but now he seemed to be a bit more testy than usual towards her. Obviously when she had kicked him in the nuts she had also kicked him in the ego. "No, they took me into a room and had a bunch of different guys interrogate me." The others agreed that their experiences had all been similar.

Going back to the previous topic Cody said, "I'm not upset." He shuffled the deck and passed out the cards evenly amongst the four of them. Taylor climbed up onto the table and sat down in the center, deciding that they were spread to far apart to play Slap Jack. Shelby climbed up next to her and Ember reluctantly followed. The nice polished wood table was now scuffed by sneakers and studded belts, but she really didn't care, it was just a small form of revenge. Cody pulled himself up and placed the first card down.

Slap Jack was a simple and violent card game. You place each card down and when a jack pops up a person would slap it, first person to do this gets all the cards, and the person who gets the whole deck wins.

"Where'd you get the cards?" Ember asked while throwing out her own card. It was difficult to do with only one arm, but she managed.

"From Shelby's bag," Taylor answered.

"How do you still have your bag?" Ember asked in exasperation. The first thing the soldiers had done to the four when they arrived was take away all their belongings. Shelby said nothing.

…

"So what do you plan to do with them?"

Walking steadily down the hallway was an older woman with stark white hair tied into a tight bun. Wearing a black pant suit and black heels that clicked against the grey floor, she was quite imposing. Next to her, an older bald man in army fatigues hurried to keep up with her brisk pace.

"There's not much we can do, we can't hold them as prisoners nor can we let them go back to their normal lives." She stared straight ahead as they came to the metal door. Jim, who hadn't moved after leading Ember into the room, nodded respectfully to the two as they approached. "I say we hire them."

The door opened to reveal the four young adults sitting on the expensive imported table shouting at each other accusingly. The old woman's face was blank of any expression while the older man next to her look annoyed. Behind them Jim face palmed and turned away, trying to hide the smirk that was growing.

"Are you sure?" the man asked quietly.

"Not at the moment," she replied airily. "Good evening!" she called out. The four turned to look at her and dropped their cards guiltily. "My name is Ariella, and I will be discussing your future with you, so pay attention."

Ariella moved to stand at the head of the table and cleared her throat. Ember raised a brow in question, but when the woman cleared her throat again she blinked and turned to her friends. "Get off the table you idiots," she ordered while sliding over to the edge herself.

Once they were all seated Ariella sat down herself. She seemed to be collecting her thoughts. "You have been caught up in a very unusual situation and I would like to apologize for that. Normally, in these kinds of circumstances we would simply have you sign a couple of forms that would swear you to secrecy and send you on your way. However, because this is in fact your second, possibly third, time interacting with these beings, two of which were on a personal level, we cannot follow normal procedure."

Ember got the feeling that she was staring at a really bitchy version of her grandmother. Annoyed with her attitude, she opened her mouth to say something only to be kicked in the shin. She glared over at Cody who was clearly interested by what Ariella had to say. Ember scowled at him before turning back to the woman and raising her hand.

"Yes?" Ariella raised an eyebrow in a bemused fashion.

"You said we've run into them three times, but I only remember seeing giant robots last night." Ember guessed that it had been last night, honestly, she hadn't been able to look at her phone since it had been taken, and when they had been led off the plane they had been inside of a large hangar, unable to see the sky.

"Yes, well, things will be further explained in a few minutes." Ariella clasped her hands together and examined the four carefully before continuing. "We cannot hold you here, as that would be the same as holding you prisoner. Some other branches of military might not have a problem with that, but since what we stand for is basically freedom for all, that would be contradictory." She shuffled through the stack of papers on her clip board. "How would you feel about joining our team?"

There was a pause, then…

"Hell no!"

"Ew, military work."

"What?"

"Fuck yeah!"

All three girls stared at Cody like he was the dumbest person on the face of the Earth. They were being forced into a military job and he was practically jumping in his seat. Ember rolled her eyes and tried to organize the continuous flow of questions that were rushing through her head. Where were they? What kind of military branch was this? Who were all these people? What happened to the robots? What WERE the robots? What kind of jobs would they be doing? And more importantly, how much would they be paid? So many questions were running through her mind that when she opened her mouth to begin asking them no sound came out.

"I cannot answer any of your questions unless you agree to work for us." Ariella stated calmly and a bit coldly.

"What if we don't agree?" Shelby asked. She glanced at her friends in concern.

"You will be deported to a third world country."

Ember stood from her seat, her left hand clenched in a fist.

"Can you give us a moment?" Cody asked politely. Ariella nodded and Cody stood and pulled Ember to a corner of the room where they were out of reasonable hearing distance. Of course that was only going on the assumption that Ember wouldn't scream. "Ember, I think we should agree with them," he whispered. "I mean, I know we're being forced into this and all, but this could be really awesome. Think of all the cool stories we'll have. And I mean, where we're going with our lives anyways? Other than you, none of us were really working on anything and you can still write while working here!" Cody was actually on his knees and begging in front of her. "We're stuck here, so we might as well have fun with it. Pleeeeaaaaaaasssssse?" He clasped his hands together around her left hand.

Ember stomped one booted foot and glanced over her shoulder at her two friends, and the evil woman, who were all still seated. Behind Arielle stood the bald man, and at the door was Jim, watching on with sympathy. She felt violated, her life was ruined and she had no choice in the matter. What about her family? Her apartment? All their stuff? She growled under her breath and rubbed at her face. "Fine." She muttered darkly.

Ember pushed Cody away and reclaimed her seat at the table. "I'm in." She sighed and brushed her bangs out of her face, trying to come to terms with the massive change in her life that was about to occur. Cody moved towards the table but refused to sit down, his mind was buzzing with excitement.

"Me too," Taylor added (Reluctantly). Shelby gave a thumbs up and shuffled her cards absently, she had already lost interest, despite the seriousness of the situation.

"Then I'll need you to sing these papers," Ariella said while sliding said documents across the table to each of them. She handed a pen to Taylor who was closest and watched as they each signed a bit hesitantly. Cody had barely finished scratching in his name before the old woman pulled the papers away from him. Ember couldn't help but feel like she had just signed away the rest of her life. Ariella stacked the papers into a neat pile and pushed them off to the side.

"Great." Ariella stood from her seat and moved over to another wall where a large screen was projected. "In that case, it is my honor to introduce to you, Optimus Prime." They all turned their heads at the sound of a motor turning on. The opposite wall was literally being lowered into the ground to reveal another, much larger room. The floor of this room was far below theirs, and for good reason. Standing at the opening was a robot. Piercing blue optics gazed at them all, set equally apart on a regal and metallic face. The jaw and chin were that of a proud and confident person, but the blue lenses were kind. All four stared on in awe, just trying to take in the complicated structure that was only its head and shoulders.

"Greetings, I am Optimus Prime." The voice was deep; they could feel the vibrations in their chests, almost like they were back at the concert. Cody gulped and froze in his tracks, the idea of returning to his seat long forgotten.

"Holy shit," Taylor whispered.

Ember swallowed past the lump that had formed in her throat and slid her hand off the table and into her lap. She glanced down at the shaking appendage in frustration. She couldn't help the fear that flooded her mind, the things presence was so frighteningly alien that she felt wrong being anywhere near it. _'He,'_ she corrected herself. _'It's definitely a guy.'_

"Wait a minute." They all turned to Ember whose eyebrows were scrunched together in confusion. "Why does your voice sound like Tim's?" She attempted to cross her arms but winced, remembering that her right arm was still in a sling. A deep rumble came from Optimus, it was a chuckle.

"That is because I am 'Tim'." Just as the words were spoken, the familiar form of Tim flickered to life in front of the group. He wore an amused smile. Behind him, Optimus shifted one foot and Tim did the same.

"So Tim is a giant alien robot?" Ember was attempting to sort out her thoughts again. She was annoyed by the shaky tone of her voice but she was slowly beginning to relax.

"The correct term would be autonomous robotic organism, but yes, you are correct." The form of Tim fizzled out of existence. Cody stared at where the man had just stood in curiosity. Ember let out a deep breath, she knew he was a kind…bot, now she just had to convince her body he was. It was all mind over matter.

"Autobot," Ariella stated.

"So, Optimus, do alien robots have-," it was Ember who had smacked a hand over Shelby's mouth. She stared at the girl in horrified amazement. _Had she really been about to open her mouth and ask?_ Taylor stared questioningly at the two, but realization dawned and she giggled, covering her own mouth to smother the laughter.

"Ignore her, she's stupid." Ember stated flatly. Shelby narrowed her eyes at Ember. Optimus quirked a part of his face that looked suspiciously like an eyebrow but said nothing.

Ariella cleared her throat. "We will give you the rundown of all events that have taken place since the Autobot's arrival." That grabbed all of their attention. They fixed their eyes avidly on Optimus, who under the sudden scrutiny shifted again. The sound of his metal feet scraping against the floor echoed throughout the room.

….

Longest history lesson of their lives aside, they were actually interested in the story. But having to sit and listen to the two talk reminded Ember of being lectured by her parents. By the time they were finished she was halfway to dream land, Optimus' voice had that kind of affect on a person.

"Despite the fact that Megatron is now off line, there are several Decepticons that remain. It is our job to locate and terminate them." Optimus' voice was grave, and as he spoke, his optics moved from face to face, silently judging their reactions.

Shelby had tried to pay attention, but the Autobot's face proved to be too distracting for her. Even when he wasn't talking there were small gears or parts that would whir or move, and she found herself mesmerized.

"So we could use as much help as possible," Ariella finished. She returned to her seat at the table.

"So what can we do?" Cody asked eagerly. He leaned over in his seat with his hands clasped over his knees. The thought of working with giant alien robots to save his planet was too much to ignore.

"Taylor and Shelby I am interested in the most. Your files label you as hackers, are you aware of this?" Taylor drew circles on the table with her finger, determined to not meet anyone's eyes, or in one case, optics. Guilt was rolling off of her in waves and she hunched her shoulders.

"Yup," Shelby agreed easily. Unlike Taylor, her guilt was non existence.

"We could use you, I'm sure the tech group will be glad to have new members." The old woman handed the bald man, who had yet to be introduced, their files. "Cody, you were in the marines. You'll report to Lennox tomorrow."

Ember stared at Cody blankly. She had forgotten that the impish man-boy had been in the Marine Cor. Cody peeked at her from out of the corner of his eye and smirked knowingly. Ember frowned.

"Pfft, I can't see you in the marines, much less with a buzz cut." Taylor snickered and Cody, oh so maturely, flicked her off.

"Nice," Ember snorted. "So what am I, a janitor?" She rubbed at one eye that was twitching while she awaited her answer. She had no special skills as far as she knew; the only thing interesting about her was her attitude.

"Well, you could be a secretary." Ariella offered. Cody pictured Ember sitting behind a desk moodily flipping through papers, and laughed.

"Ember as a-Ow! Let go!" Ember had his ear in a pinch; she yanked on it, pulling his head down to the table where it connected with a dull thud.

"Shut it you twerp or I'll cut your tongue off." She growled before letting go. Cody rubbed at his ear and glared at her, knowing she was only irritated and taking it out on him. Ember had never felt so useless in her life, except for the time when her dad had passed out when she was twelve and she was told to get out of the way by her mom. He had turned out ok, he had just been dehydrated, but the feeling of being unable to help had haunted her. "I'll do anything but sit behind a desk."

"There's really not much you can do. I would place you with Lennox as well, but you're not trained and NEST does not train civilians." She crossed her legs and placed her elbows on the table, preparing herself to argue with Ember.

There was a battle waging between the two women, and everybody in the room could sense it. _'This is just great, I'm going to be stuck in some dingy office for the rest of my life because I got hit by an idiot with a stupid name,'_ she thought darkly. Cody glanced between the two warily before sharing a look with Shelby and Taylor. None of them knew what to do.

"Ironhide has proposed an idea." Optimus spoke up from his position behind them all. It seemed almost impossible, but the humans had momentarily forgotten his presence. His rumbling baritone caused them all to jump.

"And what does Ironhide propose?" Ariella asked, clearly irritated that Ember would not simply accept her job. She turned her gaze to the autobot grudgingly.

"Ember is smart and in good health. Ironhide believes it would be wise to assign her to a field job where her talents would be useful." Optimus rumbled.

"Yes, and what kind of field job do you suggest?" Ariella asked calmly. She couldn't out right ignore the Prime's idea since he was technically above her in ranking, but she could point out flaws that she knew he would consider seriously.

"An intelligence officer." His tone was light but layered with a hint of wariness.

"What?" She seemed genuinely confused by the idea. "She has none of the requirements." Ariella scanned through Ember's files. Next to her, the bald man leaned over to read over her shoulder. She skimmed her education files and glanced up at Optimus before looking back down. "She is fluent in four languages, took chemistry and computer classes, and is physically fit and healthy." Ariella skimmed further down. "But she has no military experience. She needs to be able to protect herself and possibly innocent bystanders."

"Ironhide has offered to train her." Optimus glanced over at Ember; he seemed to study her before turning back to Ariella. None of the humans realized that he was sharing all the information he gained from this meeting with Ironhide and Ratchet. Ironhide had only offered to help the human girl when he saw how angered she was by the idea of being stuck behind a desk. He could sympathize with that, being that he was built for war and couldn't imagine what it would be like to be assigned that kind of job.

Ember stared back at the giant bot with hopeful eyes. He and Ironhide would forever be her saviors if it worked.

Ariella sighed and drummed her perfectly manicured fingers on the wooden table. She turned her eyes down to the file one more time before meeting Optimus' gaze. "I don't have the time to argue my point at the moment, so do what you will." She stood and straitened her suit jacket. "You have the rest of the day to recoup. Tomorrow you will be flown back to pack your things and the next day you will report to your assigned stations." She turned and left the room with the bald man following after her.

When she was gone Ember turned to Cody and stuck her tongue out. "Now who's got the cooler job?" Cody threw his hands up in the air in defeat and turned away from her. "Thanks Tim I owe you one!" Ember stood from her seat to look at him. She felt a bit more confident with Optimus now that he had helped her out of a jam. She promised herself she would thank Ironhide later.

The prime chuckled. "I see you will not forget that designation so easily." He shifted. Over his comm. System he could hear Ironhide snickering.

"Nope, you will forever be Tim to me. I think if you had introduced yourself as Optimus Prime the first time we met, I wouldn't be as casual with you as I am now." The idea of a monstrous mech skilled in the destruction of other monstrous mechs that was named Tim was, well, silly. It made him seem a little less intimidating.

"_**Prime, the humans need to rest."**_ Ratchets voice sounded over his Comm. Stern as usual.

"_**Thank you Ratchet, I forget sometimes that our human comrades are different."**_ Optimus replied before turning his gaze back to the young adults. "Ratchet has informed me that you need rest. I believe Jim will lead you to your rooms."

"But I'm not tired," Taylor stated.

"You are too," Cody rebuked and pulled the two girls out of their seats. Ember was already standing and moving for the door. Jim, who had been present the entire time, grinned at the four as they approached.

"You guys are gonna fit in great around here." They left the room single file and Ember glanced over her shoulder and met the gaze of Optimus. He nodded, and she decided that he was truly a regal being, so much greater than the humans he had allied himself with. She waved goodbye.

When the humans were gone, Optimus turned away from the conference room and vented, the autobot version of a sigh. He hoped they would be able to adjust to their new environment. He couldn't help but feel guilty for their situation, if he had stayed away from Ember she and her friends could probably just sign the secrecy form and be on with their lives…..

…

"Ok, there aren't many rules you really need to remember as n00bs, except that, no matter the circumstances, when you're walking down the hall you stay as close to the wall as possible. Oh, and don't piss off Ratchet." Jim chattered away the whole time he was leading them to their rooms. By now they knew all the autobots names, what they looked like, and how not to piss them off. Taylor looked seriously worried.

The hallway they were traveling down now was much larger than the first few they had entered. Obviously, they were spacious to accommodate the hulking forms of the aliens NEST was working with.

Ember was the first to be dropped off at a room, and she was thankful for it. Jim had explained to her that there was a bathroom and shower down the hall before ushering everyone else ahead and leaving her to take in her new room.

She watched her friends as they left, happy to see that they were chattering cheerily to each other. As long as they were happy then she was content to stay with NEST. She turned to the dark interior of her room.

Standing in the doorway, Ember could see that there was a twin sized bed, a small table with two chairs, and a computer desk. Against the wall next to the door was a dresser. _'I could work with this, shouldn't be too hard to decorate'_, she thought. She didn't even bother flicking the lights on when she closed the door behind her. She moved over to the bed, kicked her shoes off, and threw herself onto it with little care for her tender shoulder. She pulled the clean smelling blankets up over her head and snuggled down into the squishy pillow. Sleep first, figuring out the rest of her life later.

It would hit her in the morning; the fact that their planet was being inhabited by robotic aliens.

**A/N: So yes, the song came in just as I typed Areilla's line introducing Optimus XD Not that there will be romance with him, it was just awesome timing. So review, tell me what you thought. **


	9. I'm just a kid

**A/N: Ha Ha while writing this chapter, I was also watching a StarWars marathon, the irony. Anyways, I've been reading the novelized version of the TF movies; they have some really awesome details not in the movies. So I fell in love with Alan Fosters writing style and I'm sitting here in front of my (poor broken) laptop thinking, "Damn, I wish I could write that well". I mean, I am honestly feeling way out of my league here, some of you guys are so amazing at writing that I'll waste away a whole day reading your stuff without even realizing it. So in my vain attempt to get a little better, I'm asking for your opinions on how I can improve. What kind of detail can I put in to make it more realistic, how's word and sentence flow, anything you want to see in this story? I honestly want to know. :D**

One of her most favorite pastimes, Ember decided, was sleeping. Sitting in the smooth leather seat of a plane as it jostled with turbulence, it was pretty hard for anyone to nap, but she was determined. She struggled with Cody's hoodie, which she was using as a pillow, and pushed it up against the window so her head wasn't knocking against the glass, careful of her sore shoulder. Scattered about the plane were several soldiers, most listening to their ipods.

"I don't see why she gets the window seat when she's just sleeping." Shelby crossed her arms. She was sitting next to Cody, across from Ember. "She's not gonna see anything through her eyelids!" Ember threw her packet of peanuts at her. Through the window she could see nothing but blue ocean and white clouds, that is, if she cared to look.

At 12 o'clock sharp, Ember had been woken up by a knock on her door and a shout. She was ordered to be ready to leave in ten minutes. Sitting up in bed, she gazed at her room in bleary confusion. Where was she? The white bed sheets were certainly not hers, and the tacky green carpet was not familiar in any way. When her memory returned she had somewhat shakily pulled on her boots and rushed out the door. Off to the right, Jim waited with her bag in hand and a cheerful grin that did not belong on anyone in the morning. "What time is it?"

Ember shifted in her seat and sighed. Next to her Taylor yawned. The plane had taken off only ten minutes ago and already they were bored and restless. Ember and Taylor had started to fight over the single armrest and after much elbowing; Taylor just threw her legs over it. Now Ember was acting as a footrest. Despite her small victory, Taylor was still bored to tears. "I'm bored."

"So am I, so shut up," Shelby snapped back. Taylor made a face but said nothing.

It was only a matter of time before an argument broke out, Cody decided. He placed his hands behind his head and leaned back in the seat with an amused sigh. Shelby and Taylor fought often; they said it was because they were so alike, Ember said it was because they just liked to argue. They didn't deny it.

Behind them, in the back of the plane, there were no seats. Instead, it was bare with metal flooring and benches that ran alongside each curving wall. Parked in the center was a powerful black Topkick. It hadn't moved or made a sound since it had boarded the plane, and as far as the four friends were concerned, it was just a normal truck. And they continued to think that as Shelby and Taylor threw insults back and forth with Ember throwing a few in herself.

"Will you please shut up?"

All four turned to look at the truck. Their unconscious assumptions were shattered as the truck's headlights flicked on and it rolled forward a few inches. Shelby immediately looked away from the vehicle and stared out the window, trying to hide her embarrassment. She was also fighting the laughter that wanted to escape. She glanced at Taylor whose face was turning bright red.

Ember sighed and pulled Cody's hoodie over her head, annoyed that her one source of amusement was ruined. But who would argue with a two ton war machine? The thought led her down a familiar train of thought. It was honestly amazing how an average and otherwise normal looking vehicle could spontaneously shift into a bipedal robot.

"Your shrill quarreling is irritating, as amusing as you may find it." Ember recognized the voice, and she realized that it was Ironhide who was reprimanding them now. The thought of thanking him for offering to train her entered her mind, but she figured now wasn't the time. Ahead of them, a few soldiers glanced back questioningly.

Cody laughed. "You, my friends, just got told," he stated.

"Thank you, captain obvious," Shelby muttered.

"Why don't you play one of your traveling games?" The bot's voice wasn't as deep as Optimus', but it had a strange kind of accent that Ember couldn't quite place. Despite the gruff tone he used, his voice wasn't altogether unpleasant.

"Traveling games? You mean like I Spy?" Taylor asked.

"I spy with my little eye, something stupid." Shelby said. She rolled her eyes and pulled her knees up and wrapped her arms around her legs. Shelby had been woken up to early for her liking, and she had a feeling it was going to be a daily occurrence from then on.

"You?" Shelby glared at Taylor who only snickered.

"Arg," Ember threw the hoodie back at Cody, giving up on sleep. "I'm bored too." She crossed her arms carefully and examined the other people who were seated on the plane in thought. "What can we do?"

Cody pulled the sweater off of his head and turned his gaze on the autobot parked in the back. "Hey, can we listen to the radio?" He called out to the truck. If they had some good music he figured their boredom wouldn't be so intense.

Ironhide seemed to sag on his axels. _'Primus, help me.'_ He was dreading the plane ride home already. The young humans never seemed to stop arguing but if playing a bit of their annoying music would make them shut up then Ironhide was determined to do so. His radio flickered on, loud enough for all to hear, and he sifted through all the stations until all the humans agreed on a rock station.

"I love this song!" Taylor jumped up out of her seat and pulled Ember with her. "Come on, I know you know the words."

"Turn it up!" Ember seemed honestly excited for the song. It was strange to see the usually moody woman wearing a smile that big.

Ironhide snorted and turned up the music grudgingly. He didn't quite like Earth music, it was nothing like what he had listened to back on Cybertron, in fact, he wouldn't even call what the humans created music at all. After discussing it with the other autobots he learned that he was actually one of the only few that felt that way. Bumblebee loved it, and he had sadly pointed out that Jazz had too.

"_Well I met an old man dying on a train, _

_no more destination no more pain,_

_well he said one thing before I graduate, _

_never let your fear decide your fate!"_

Ember and Taylor sung the words to the song in between their laughter. Cody was sitting in his seat and clapping, laughing when the two girls started to dance in that dorky white girl way only they could pull off. Shelby covered her face in embarrassment, wondering why she hung out with these people, but then again, she was worse when she was hyper.

It was no surprise that the handful of soldiers that were also on the plane joined in on the commotion. It was hard not to when the music was being blasted so loud and everyone was laughing. It was the same kind of atmosphere a person would find at a game or concert, everyone was generally happy and in the mood to act silly. They stood from their seats and moved to the back of the plane to get a closer look.

Cody jumped up and reached for Embers good hand, she stared at him blankly before grinning and allowing him to spin her around. Wary of her injured shoulder, he was sure to not touch it, otherwise he had a feeling Ember's rare good mood would evaporate quicker than a drop of rain in a dessert.

"_I say you kill your heroes and fly, fly, baby don't cry. _

_No need to worry 'cause everybody will die._

_Every day we just go, go, baby don't go! _

_Don't you worry we love you more than you know!"_

Shelby watched Cody and Ember with a knowing look, the two had been dancing (pun intended) around each other for far too long. She stood and moved to join Taylor in dancing, feeling a bit left out of the action.

The heavy drumming and electric buzzing of the music was hard to ignore. It was the kind of music that filled a person up and kind of demanded to be danced to. And the four friends were not going to ignore that demand. The youth were drawn to music like bees to flowers; it was a true form of expression.

Ironhide watched somewhat curiously as Cody and Ember danced about.

"_Well the sun one day will leave us all behind, _

_unexplainable sightings in the sky._

_Well I hate to be the one to ruin the night, _

_right before your, right before your eyes."_

"I say you kill your heroes and fly, fly, baby don't die." Both Ember and Taylor cried out and laughed, giving each high fives in between their dancing.

The mech was bit stunned by the humans actions, the war had taken its toll on his race, and it was rare for him to see so much joy. Even before the war it had been rare for a bot to act so rambunctious. He was aware of the human's short lifespan, could that have something to do with their vibrant emotions? Did they feel the need to cram as much feeling as possible into every moment because they were aware of how little time they had to live?

"I don't understand why you humans like that mixed up grouping of sound. It doesn't make sense at all." Ironhide shifted, curious as to why all four of them stared at him accusingly.

"I think you're listening wrong." Shelby stated uncertainly.

"What?" Ironhide was questioning the human's intelligence. How can you listen wrong?

"Yeah, I think our music must be different." Taylor fiddled with her bracelets self consciously. She felt a bit out of place disagreeing with the mech. "We have music, and then the music has lyrics. It sounds like your just combining it all into one giant mess." She attempted to explain. She finished lamely and her shoulders slumped in defeat when Ironhide remained silent.

It made sense, since the two separate species no doubt evolved differently, they would have discovered music differently and it would most certainly not be similar. Humans had learned music from nature; the wind, rain, thunder, birds and other animals. Taylor wondered if the Cybertronians had anything like that on their planet, or did they learn it from the sound of metal; blades sliding together, metal crashing into metal as they charged into battle, and canons powering up. It was sad to think that they had been warring for so long that it affected their culture. Had they ever been peaceful?

"Why would you put words in you music?" He asked after what seemed like ten minutes of silence. Replaying the song quietly, he made the correct adjustments while processing it and perked up. Now it made more sense, but why was it that the others seemed to take to Earth music so quickly? For a moment he thought of bringing it up with Ratchet, but almost immediately dismissed the idea. All four humans glanced at each other questioningly before turning to face the truck and shrugging in unison.

"Why not?" Cody countered.

After their dance session, the friends dug through their bags for the single deck of cards they currently owned, and played a game while sitting on the cold metal floor right in front of Ironhide. They decided on a game of BS, since it seemed to be the only game Shelby would agree to play. Sitting cross legged in front of the three girls, Cody shuffled the deck expertly and handed them out.

The game was slow going because Ember had only one hand; she couldn't hold her cards and search through them at the same time. She sat with her legs crossed and her deck of cards between them so no one else could see them while she shuffled them about to find the right cards.

"So the purpose of this game is to lie," Ironhide stated. It wasn't a question since the autobot had been watching them play. He rolled forward a couple of inches so he could see Embers cards. She glanced back at him with a playful glare.

"Don't be giving them any hints," she warned. She lifted them higher so he could see while she sifted through them with her thumb; after the last round her hand of cards had become considerably smaller. There was an amused rumble from the truck.

"Three twos." Shelby placed the cards down on the ever growing stack. As she did so Cody, Taylor and Ember glanced down at their own decks.

"BS!" Ember said dryly. She had two of said cards in hand.

Shelby groaned and pulled the huge pile on the floor into her lap and shuffled them into a reasonably neat deck. "I hate you guys," she muttered darkly. Cody chuckled and glanced over at Ironhide who was resting significantly close to Ember. Curious, he filed away the information in his brain and reminded himself to do some snooping later on why Ironhide had taken an almost immediate liking to Ember. The fact that he had offered to train just her so she wouldn't be stuck behind desk was strange, especially since he hadn't even officially met her. Of course, Cody could just be reading too much into it and might just be the slightest bit jealous.

"Two threes," Taylor stated. Cody searched through his hand and pulled out two cards.

"BS."

They all turned to look at Ironhide. Taylor raised a brow with a cheeky grin and picked the cards up. "Wrong!" She flaunted the two threes happily. Ironhides holoform flickered in existence between Ember and Cody. Taylor and Shelby blinked up at the bald man, more than a bit intimidated. If this was how scary he was as a human, the two girls didn't want to know what he looked like as a full on robot. Ironhide sat down and reached over, plucking the cards from Taylors grip.

Thus the autobot was brought into the game, but despite his superior processing power, it was Cody who won the game. As a kind of victory dance, Cody had gathered all the cards neatly and then flung them in Taylors face shouting "52 card pickup!", After that the girls lost interest and started talking about maturity which led them to boys, more importantly, the ones they would be leaving behind once they started working with NEST. Cody met Ironhide's eyes and shrugged, they would later be found playing a game of slapjack (Ironhide won every time).

….

"I feel kind of bad for Cody." Taylor sat in the backseat of the black truck. On one side of her sat Ember and on the other was Shelby. Up front were two soldiers who had been on the plane with them just minutes before. They had landed at a small private airport where they split into groups; the girls with Ironhide and Cody went with the majority of the soldiers.

"Why?" Ember asked curiously. She was searching through her contacts on her cell phone trying to find her mother's number.

"Because he doesn't get Ironhide," she stated simply. "He'll have to shove all his stuff into that tiny jeep thing those guys drove off in." She crossed her arms and glanced out the window, watching the familiar town go by outside for possibly the last time.

"In Ironhides defense, I wouldn't want to carry his stinky clothes anyways." Shelby commented. She too was staring out the window with her chin propped on one hand. The truck's engine rumbled in agreement and Taylor snickered.

Ember stared down at her phone nervously. She was unsure about even letting her mother know that she was going to be gone for an extended period of time. That woman was one of the few humans who could actually cause Ember to feel fear, that, and she was extremely good at figuring out lies. Ember swallowed, her thumb hovering over the call button. Taylor leaned over in puzzlement. She glanced at the phone, then at Embers face, and came to a decision. She snatched the phone from Embers hand and pressed the call button.

"Taylor, no!" Ember struggled to get the phone back with only one hand. She slid across the leather seat, reaching for the device that Taylor was holding out past Shelby who was watching in amusement. "Give it back!"

"No way! You would have sat there forever trying to decide what to do." Taylor pushed at Ember, trying to get her away. Ember growled and pushed back, forcing Shelby up against the door. After that they were all shouting and arguing and the two men up front looked back in confusion. There was an audible click from the phone and they all froze, then a female voice answered, "Hello?"

Ember smacked Taylor and took the phone from her angrily. She glared before putting it to her ear, "Hi mom!" Despite the cheeriness in her voice she was still glaring at Taylor, who at that moment, was fearing for her life.

"Hey Ember, how are you?" Her mother sounded happy to hear from her. She always was, Ember realized, and it was probably because she was the only one of her children who had moved out of state.

"I'm good," she replied. It wasn't a complete lie, she was in reasonably good health. She picked at the hem of her frayed shorts nervously. "Listen, Mom, I was offered a chance to study abroad…" She trailed off, wondering how her mother would take the news.

"Well that's great! Where to?" Mrs. Willows sounded excited and so, ever so gently, Ember laid out an elaborate lie that she had settled on just minutes before. Yeah, right.

"Paris." She stated simply. She noticed that the trucks engine had fallen unusually quiet for a vehicle his size, and she silently thanked Ironhide again. He seemed to sense the mood and understood.

"When are you leaving?"

"Today," Ember answered sadly. "It was kind of out of nowhere, otherwise I would have come to visit first…" She sighed. She wondered when she would honestly get a chance to see her family again. Next to her, Shelby and Taylor listened intently. Ember spoke to her mother for a little while longer, trying to assure her that she would be fine. When Ember hung up she shivered, "God that woman scares me."

Ironhides voice came over the speakers then, "Why?" It was strange for anyone to fear their own creator.

"Because," Ember began, "even with that convincing performance, you can bet your tail pipes she knows something's up." Shelby and Taylor were both lost in the memories of their first meeting with Ember's mom. She had been cool, and really nice, but the second they had gotten up to mischief she had been right on top of them.

"Female humans seem to be quite a force to reckon with when it comes to their offspring." Ironhide commented.

"You're telling me." The soldier sitting in shotgun complained. His was probably the same age as the girls. Light brown hair and grey eye that held an enormous amount of humor in them glanced in the rear view mirror at the girls. There was a general mood of agreement.

"My mom could care less," said the other soldier, His eyes were a light blue, and his hair was dark blond and shaggy.

"That sucks, I hate douche parents," Shelby stated.. Now that the two had spoken up, she could look at them as actual people instead of just beings made to follow orders and act all broody.

"To quote Austin, 'you're telling me'." He sighed and shifted in the driver's seat. It was strange having to sit in a car that not only drove its self, but kicked alien aft on a daily basis.

"Ok, so he's Austin, and you are…?" Taylor prompted.

"I'm Tanner, nice to meet you." Tanner chuckled and nudged Austin with his elbow. Austin looked at him and rolled his eyes. He turned back and examined all three girls.

"Yeah, don't ever get stuck with this creep alone." He smacked Tanner upside the head before turning back around in his seat. Aside from discovering that Tanner was some kind of pervert, the ride to their apartment went by rather quietly. When Ironhide pulled into the parking lot Ember felt a little embarrassed; their complex wasn't exactly nice. Across the street three men stood and exchanged money shiftily. Ember grimaced and opened the door, slid out of her seat, and hurried to their apartment.

Everyone else vacated the autobot turned truck quickly.

"So you guys have an hour to pack what you need, which would be; clothes, toiletries, and any personal items you would like to keep nearby." Austin followed them up to the front door where Ember was just fitting the key into the lock. Behind them, Tanner waited with Ironhide. He was actually keeping an eye on the three men across the street who were all now watching them suspiciously. Tanner was certain that Ironhide wouldn't have any trouble at all if they got to close, but it was important to stay on the D.L. He would probably get an ear full from Lennox (or worse, Ariella) if he didn't keep things under control.

Ember opened the door and they stepped inside, Austin following last. He scanned the apartment curiously, wondering what kind of place the girls lived in. Yes, he could be a bit on the nosey side, but hey, he was only human. Ahead of him, the girls had already run off into their rooms to gather their things.

Ember stood in the middle of her room and sighed. The only sound was the muffled voices of Taylor and Shelby who were giggling excitedly in the other room. The room was just as she had left, still a bit dusty and with the perfect amount of clutter; not too much, but enough to let a person know someone actually inhabited the place. She hadn't lived here for too long, five years tops, but a lot of memories had built up in that time and she was finding it hard to let go. She rolled her bad shoulder hesitantly and winced before opening her closet and pulling down her suitcase and duffle bag. Austin had said to only pack what was necessary, but the poor guy probably didn't know half of what was necessary to a girl.

Ember smirked while she packed as much clothes as she possibly could. She made sure to bring lots of shorts and tank tops, as well as underwear. She shoved all her makeup and other toiletries into her duffel bag before zipping it closed and dropping it onto her bed next to her half filled suitcase. She grabbed four pairs of shoes; her converse, black and cork wedges, a pair of sandals, and her nice dress shoes. Speaking of which, she stared at one of the few dresses she owned. She highly doubted she would need to wear a dress, but the idea of not having one seemed wrong. Ember wasn't really all that girly, but she did love her fashion. _'Just in case' ,_she thought while pulling it out of her closet. She stared at the black dress lovingly; it had been her mothers, but Mrs. Willows had given it to her when she was younger. Almost every day little Ember had pulled that dress down and tried it on to see if it would fit, it never did of course, she had been too small, but on her sixteenth birthday it was presented to her and fit perfectly.

"What do you need that thing for?"

Ember turned to her doorway and stared at the holoform blankly, still holding the dress in hand. Ironhide raised a questioning brow, much like he had seen Epps do when he and Will would argue. He was leaning against the frame with his arms crossed. Ember vaguely wondered if he even needed to lean at all. Did they even need balance?

"A girl can't be without a dress, no matter how tough they are." Ember turned away and placed the dress in with the rest of her clothes. "My mom told me that. I never doubt my mom's words….." she paused, "Or my sisters for that matter." She paused in thought. Staring at the floor she tried to figure out what else she could fit into her suitcase. "Sooo, why exactly did you offer to train me anyways?" she asked while crouching down in front of her dresser. She opened a cabinet door to reveal a DVD collection that had been carefully stored an alphabetized.

"I'm bored." The alien man shrugged. Ember turned from her crouched position and raised her own brow. "There isn't much decepticon activity." His reasoning was short and simple, but Ember had a feeling there was more to it, but she didn't want to push the guy when she barely knew him.

She 'hmm'ed' and turned back to her collection of movies. Ironhide scowled but said nothing.

"So what happened to that decepticon from last night?" She asked purely out of conversations sake. She had a feeling Ironhide was going to be standing there for a while since he had nothing else to do, and she didn't want to sit there in an awkward silence the entire time.

"Barricade? He got away." Ironhide replied gruffly, obviously he wasn't too happy about the fact. He glared down at the innocent wooden floor while Ember sorted through her movies, trying to decide on which ones to take with her. She didn't even know if she would be able to watch them on a TV, but she was taking her laptop too…Her thoughts took a turn for the worst when real life came crashing down. She had bought that laptop for college. Anger reared its ugly head and she threw a DVD case across the room with little care for where it landed. Ironhide watched with a deadpanned expression as it landed on her desk, knocking over several picture frames and fragile looking trinkets.

"I can't just up and leave!" She groaned and dropped her head into her hand. Sitting cross legged on the floor she had never looked so pitiful. "I have school! Do you know how much that costs? If I leave, then I would have wasted all that hard work. I busted my ass for nothing. Mom would be so disappointed. Ugh!" She pushed herself onto her feet, stumbled, and righted herself in time to see Austin stop next to Ironhide, who had yet to move. She growled and kicked at her computer chair, which rolled across the room as if to escape her rage.

"You don't have a choice," Ironhide stated. "So stop thinking about it." He couldn't understand why she was making such a big deal about it. His war hardened processor just couldn't wrap itself around how petty humans could be. Why was she so upset over this? She was still alive, and now she had an even better paying job. What was so horrible about that?

"You-," she started, but stopped. The anger left her in a rush and she sighed, dropping back onto her bed. The mech was right of course, but still! She groaned and pushed her suitcase away from her, which was also resting on her bed. Ironhide moved away from the doorway and out towards the living room, probably going to go see what the other girls were doing in a futile attempt to get back to base quicker. Austin stepped into the room tentatively and picked up the scattered movies Ember had left on the ground.

"It really sucks, but I'm sure it won't be too bad if you give it a chance." He dropped the movies into her ever fattening suitcase. He felt a little awkward standing in the bedroom of person he had just met that morning and in military fatigues at that. Ember sighed and nodded. She continued to pack while Austin followed Ironhide's example and left.

Trying her best not to reminisce on the past while she stuffed personal belonging after personal belonging into her bag, she finished quickly and pulled it all out into the living room where she found the two men (one alien) talking. Austin of course was sitting on the couch, while the holoform of Ironhide stood. Shelby and Taylor were still packing, and if Ember listened hard enough she could hear the sound of them throwing stuff around and generally making a mess.

"So what's gonna happen with all our stuff that we can't take?" she asked.

Ironhide looked over at her and cocked his head strangely, it was more of a sideways nod. Ember took this to be an alien shrug.

"They'll probably clean it out and put it all in storage," Austin put in.

Ember sighed. It felt like a whole was being hollowed out in her heart, and she had no control over it. She took in her living room for what would probably be the last time for a loooong while. The black rug, the old beat up coffee table that was hidden under newspapers and text books, the black couch that had doubled as a bed so many times it was a wonder they hadn't just gotten a blow up mattress. "I better get this stuff back when this is all over." She warned and turned to the kitchen. She looked inside the fridge idly and was a bit surprised to find a piece of chocolate cake left over from Taylor's party. She pulled it out just as Taylor and Shelby joined her in the kitchen.

"I think we should have a toast," Taylor exclaimed. They all got a glass of milk, and while Austin and Ironhide watched they made a quick toast. "To our new jobs!" Taylor started.

"To friendship!" Shelby threw in.

Ember sighed and thought hard about what her new life would be like. Helping a bunch of fighting alien robots win a bazillion year old war by doing god only knew what. She rolled her eyes in exasperation; she should have realized it earlier. Writing books was one way to change the world, but working with people like the Autobots could save one. "To adventure and success!"

They tapped their glasses of milk together before taking a sip and digging into the last piece of chocolate cake, each with their own fork. It was certainly a moment none of them would ever forget.

Ironhide stared at them in confusion, "Is this normal?" He asked Austin curiously.

"Uhhhh…..yeah." Austin replied oh so intelligently.

**A/N: So, review and tell me what you think. :D I could use the input! Thanks to the handful of you that do review **


	10. Life is a Highway

**A/N: Ok, so if you haven't noticed yet, this story begins before the second movie and it goes on through ROTF and so on. So, due to the fact that the third movie is now out and I have yet to see it…yeah, lol, we'll just have to wait and see what happens. So I hooked up my laptop to my TV so now I don't have to worry about the crack in my screen But now I can't watch TV when I'm writing, but oh well. **

**For some reason, out of all the different voices Megatron has had I loved his voice in Animated the best. **

**Stellar-Cycle is about 1 year. **

The sun was setting. The city was filled with the surreal orange light as people went about their day to day lives; heading home from work, eating dinner with the family, and sitting down to watch their usual shows. Or the complete opposite of all that, but Ember wasn't picky. She sat at Ironhide's window, her head resting against the glass while she stared out at the other cars that were waiting at the red light, tiredly. Next to her Shelby and Taylor were quiet. She sighed, causing the window to fog up, and absently drew a frowny face.

"Really?" Tanner asked from the driver's seat. He was looking back at her with an amused smirk. While the girls had been packing he had sat out with Ironhide so he hadn't been able to witness Embers "little mini bitch fit" as she had put it, but he had heard from Austin while they were throwing the girls stuff into Ironhide's trunk.

"Yup." She popped the P. Dryly she turned her eyes to his and quirked a brow, daring him to say more. Tanner chuckled and turned back to face the front, realizing it would be odd if anyone looked through the windows to see him 'driving' while not even looking at the road.

"You're certainly a gloomy one. Cheer up; at least you won't be behind bars." He lifted a hand and flicked the radio on. Somewhat huffily, Ironhide switched it off. "Sorry, I keep forgetting," he apologized nervously. Austin snickered. Ember turned back to gazing out the window without responding.

"Didn't the Power Rangers have robot thingys?" Shelby asked. She turned to look at Ember and Taylor questioningly. The randomness was not lost on anyone in the truck, or the truck itself, but the girls had been dealing with Shelby for years and they were used to it by now.

"Go, go, power rangers." Taylor sang quietly. She laughed when Austin started to do the same.

"Yeah, they all had their own, and then they all combined to make one giant one." Tanner explained distantly, as if he were remembering all of his childhood with that one statement. Which he probably was.

"I don't know what you guys are talking about." Ember laughed and shook her head; she had never watched Power Rangers. "I remember watching Sailor Moon, and Digimon though."

"Digimon, digital monster, digimon digital countdown!" Taylor sang.

"No wait! Fighting evil by moonlight, winning love by daylight…I forget this part, anyways, she is the one named Sailor Moon!" Shelby howled. Ember laughed and covered her ears in mock horror. Tanner groaned at the thought of such a sissy cartoon and dropped his head against the steering wheel.

"What about Pokemon?" Austin asked. Poor Ironhide had to deal with ALL of them singing every Pokemon song they could remember, loudly, and very much out of tune until they arrived. When they finally made it back to the small airport, he was at the end of his rope.

The group had been having so much fun (except Ironhide) that they hadn't noticed when they had left the city. Ember was beginning to gain some optimism for the future at this point. Maybe her friends would make this whole experience worthwhile.

The truck drove into the parking lot, swerved smoothly around the corner of the building and out onto the tarmac. With the orange sun bouncing of his shimmering black paint job, it looked like an epic car commercial. His tires crunched over the pavement as he slowed to a stop next to the rented jeep the NEST soldiers had used to go collect Cody's things.

Ironhide opened all of his doors simultaneously and shifted his seats, causing everyone to slide out rather ungracefully. Ember being the soul person still standing. That might just have been because of her injured shoulder however, or the fact that she was pretty quick on her feet. She brushed off her shorts and casually moved to pull her suitcase from Ironhide's trunk, thankful that hers was in front. She tugged at it with her one arm and let it drop to the ground with a heavy thud.

Taylor came around and grabbed her one suit case and handed Ember's duffel to Tanner, who had been attempting to walk on without helping. He chuckled nervously and cleared his throat before continuing to the waiting plane. Ember and Taylor giggled quietly.

Cody strolled down the ramp of the plane and bowed before Ember jokingly before taking her bag. She watched him head back from where he had come with her luggage in tow blankly. She placed her one good hand on her hip.

"What the hell is going on around here? One sore shoulder and I'm being treated like the queen of England." Ember exclaimed. Taylor shrugged. Shelby came around to collect her things and grumbled something about the death of chivalry and Cody just wanting to get into her pants. Ember raised a brow but said nothing while she waited for her friends to move.

The plane ride back was rather interesting. Ironhide was instructed to once again play music while the group of six sat in a circle in front of him playing a combination of spin the bottle and truth or dare. There was a lot of laughing and groaning, especially when someone picked 'dare' and was forced to go through with it. Cody spun the bottle casually, and snickered when it stopped on Ember who raised a brow.

"This is perfect, Truth or dare?" He asked deviously. Ember rolled her eyes and glanced around at the rest of her friends who were watching avidly, hoping she would pick dare.

"Truth." It was the wimpy way out, but she knew the kinds of things Cody could come up with. His mind was not a nice place to be when he was feeling like the trouble maker he really was.

"Who did you l-." Ember cut him off by throwing her bag at his face, knocking him over.

"None of your business you perverted monkey." She answered dryly. Shelby hadn't stopped laughing at Cody since.

….

"Report."

Deep. Dark. Dangerous. The voice that spoke was calm and sounded almost amused yet cold at the same time. It was just a glimpse of the true soul of the being it emanated from; a cruel monster. Metal claws were dragged across the armrest of a throne; there was the sound of squealing metal and sparks shot up in the darkness, illuminating the prone figure of a towering metallic form. When the light faded, only two crimson orbs remained.

"They will not arrive for quite some time I'm afraid, at least three stellar cycles." This voice was almost as deep, but filled with a sickly sweet tone.

"What of Soundwave?" The dark voice took on a slightly curious tone that would have sent a shiver up any person's spine.

"Just two, my lord." There was a smirk in the voice.

The Metal claws, long and deadly, drummed against the arm of the great throne the monster was seated in. The darkness around the two forms was thin, but just deep enough to hide the annoyed scowl. "Lose that tone Starscream, or you will lose your voice," he growled, his chest rumbling in warning.

Starscream shifted nervously and chuckled, though it was as fake as his loyalty to his leader. "Yes, My Lord," he replied seriously. He reached for his neck and rubbed at his voice synthesizer tenderly before stepping back and bowing gracefully. He made his departure.

"I grow impatient and tired of dealing with these lowly insects," Megatron clenched his fingers around the armrests in frustration.

….

A rectangle of artificial light pulled all the occupants of the plane away from their conversations. There was a thud and a clank, the loading ramp now resting on the gravel below.

Ironhide shifted and rolled forward down the ramp leading down to the tarmac of Deigo Garcia. On either side of him Soldiers hurried past him to retrieve the human's luggage and hustle the group out of the aircraft and down onto the ground. He chuckled in amusement at their protests.

He moved out of the way and joined Ratchet, who was waiting in his alt mode patiently.

Ember sighed in annoyance and followed the NEST operatives grudgingly. '_This is how it's going to be for the rest of my life so I might as well get used to it now'_, was the only thought that ran through her head. She adjusted her grip on her bag and allowed her eyes to rove over the base. Although it was night, there were several tall lights with enough power to light ten baseball fields scattered about the hangars. Everything was thrown into deep and solid shadows. Her eyes stopped at Ironhide who was stationed next to a VERY familiar rescue vehicle that seemed to have noticed her at the same time. The headlights blinked on, then off, signaling for her to approach. Muttering darkly, she broke away from the group and stomped across the gravel and asphalt.

"Well isn't this just dandy," she exclaimed dryly. "I honestly should have seen this coming." She came to a stop in front of the two vehicles with a non to amused smirk. "Doc Ratch, I presume," she gestured at the hummer and grinned.

"That's Doctor Ratchet to you," the vehicle replied just as dryly. Ember chuckled and glanced at Ironhide before turning back to Ratchet.

"So what's up doc?" She asked, obviously stalling for time. She didn't quite feel up to some lecture from that Ariella woman again about their jobs before they were sent off to bed, which led her to wonder if there was a curfew. Did the Autobots have to abide by it too? Did they even need to sleep? She stared at the ground in thought and only looked up when the familiar British accent assaulted her ears.

"What are you doing?" Ratched probably would have been glaring at her if he was in his bipedal form. He had been calling her name for the past minute.

"Zoning," she answered with a one armed shrug.

"Well stop it and pay attention," he snapped. Ember ducked her head and hid a smirk. "Your shoulder won't be healed for at least two months. Normally it would take a month to dispose of the sling, but I have a simple solution that will cut that time drastically." Ratchet rolled back and shifted into his natural form slowly, allowing Ember time to adjust to his appearance. She took an involuntary step back and gazed at him curiously. Ratchet crouched in front of her and with surprising gentleness slid her arm out of its sling. Pain radiated from her shoulder despite the tender care Ratchet was giving it.

"Easy Doc, a girl can only take so much," she ground out through her clenched teeth. Ratchet stared at her witheringly before turning back to his task at hand.

"I am well aware of the human tolerance for pain Ms. Willows." He stated casually while he scanned her shoulder, examining the bone and damaged muscle around it. His optics shifted and rotated to switch through different forms of vision. He reached towards his hip and when he pulled his hand back he held a small vile and a shot distributor that looked like a hand gun. Ember's eyes widened and looked back over her shoulder at her friends who were quickly disappearing into the building. Finding no help there, she turned back to say something to Ratchet but what came out of her mouth was a yelp. The alien medic had administered the shot while she was distracted, the pain was minor but still startling.

"Will you stop doing that you trigger happy medic!" Ember exclaimed and rubbed at her shoulder sulkily. "What the hell did you put in me?"

Ironhide was roaring with laughter, "She got you pinned Hatchet!" Ratchet smacked the black truck in the hood before turning back to the human and snorted.

"Typical, the weapons specialist, as the humans say, is calling the kettle black." The shot distributor disappeared back into nowhere and Ember's face contorted in confusion. Ratchet ignored her strange look and quickly converted back into his alt mode. The strange cacophony of noises that was growing familiar to Ember drew the attention of one Robert Epps. The man approached from an unknown direction to Ember, but he seemed friendly enough, if the grin on his face was anything to go by.

"I just gave you a small dosage of nanobots, if you must know."Ratchet finally replied. Ember was stunned into silence and glanced down at her shoulder in paranoia. She rubbed at it again, this time frantically but her actions went ignored by the group.

"Ratchet, 'Hide, how's it going?" He patted the black truck in greeting and saluted to the medic.

"Fine Epps, anything interesting happen while I was gone?" Ironhide asked casually.

"Nah, man, the twins weren't in too much of a pranking mood today." Epps replied, Ironhide shifted a bit uncomfortably and turned more towards Ratchet. The two shared a similar thought, worrying for the lonely twin that was doing his best to cheer the others up when he could while hiding his own negative emotions. "Is this one of the newbies?"

"This newb's name is Ember," she stated, now calm. Epps just smirked at her attitude and offered to give her the grand tour before lights out. She was pulled away from the two aliens without a chance to even say goodbye and towards the main building where the majority of the small islands population was currently to be found. It was dinner time and Epps wanted the new girl to get a taste of NEST's best. Ember was seated at a table and had a tray of spaghetti placed in front of her.

"I would have thought you guys would be eating army rations or something like that," she commented. Sitting across from her was Epps and Lennox. She had recognized the white man from earlier the other day and greeted him with a lazy wave that was returned with equal amounts of laziness.

"Not at base, we have cooks here. It's really only if we're stuck out in the middle of nowhere during a mission." Lennox replied while twisting his fork in his own plate of spaghetti. Around them, the cafeteria was filled to the brim with hungry men and woman intent on stuffing themselves silly. The chattering and laughing of almost a hundred people was tuned out during their conversation. Ember did note, however, that the room was freezing and the steaming plates of food did almost nothing to battle the low temperature. She shifted on her metal chair and smirked, feeling like she was back in high school again.

"I'm pretty sure I'm not supposed to be here, my friends were kind of kidnapped from the plane." Ember said while taking a bite of her own dish. The spaghetti was way better than her own that she had made two weeks ago. She cocked her head, realizing that the leftovers were probably still sitting in the back of her fridge, probably growing mold by now.

"Well, it doesn't really matter much. Ironhide will catch you up on everything you need to know," Lennox assured the young woman. Ember shrugged and took a bite of garlic bread, she would have to meet the cook, she decided.

"So what's it like working with the big guys?" She asked curiously.

"Well," Epps began, "they're fun to be around, they like to joke just as much as the next guy, and it's really cool to learn about their own planet and stuff. I think the only downside is you have to be careful about being smooshed." Epps finished off his own dinner and pushed the tray and sat back in his chair with a content sigh.

Ember quelled the nervousness that fluttered in her chest and pushed her half eaten plate away with a sad sigh. Wasting food was at the top of her not to do list, but she really wasn't in the mood to eat now. Lennox and Epps laughed at her discomfort and she narrowed her eyes at them, revenge was in the future.

Epps stood with his tray and Ember followed his example. "I'll see you later Will, I gotta show this girl around," Epps thumbed at Ember. Lennox grinned and ushered the two away, excited to learn of Ember's reactions later. "That guy loves his job a bit too much," Epps whispered to Ember as they dumped their trays and left the dinner hall.

They walked around for an hour, going from room to room, building to building, while Epps chattered about the base and daily duties. He showed her the training areas, the tech labs, meeting rooms, science labs, the gym, the barracks, and all the secret rooms and lounges that were almost impossible to find. Ember was amazed at how large the base was, probably big enough to fit the entire population of a large city since half of it was underground.

"And this, is the best room of all; the rec. room!" the room was very big, situated in one of the unused hangars. Half of the buildings floor was an observation deck, raised high off the ground with a stairway leading up to permit human access. It was filled with all kinds of games, TVs, couches and chairs, and even a poker table; the ground floor was reserved for the Autobots. Epps patted a pool table affectionately and sighed happily. "This is where the parties happen," he stated proudly.

Last but not least, he showed her the Autobot's hangar across from the rec. room, which may have been her favorite part on the entire tour. This was the biggest hangar, and it was stocked with all kinds of things that she couldn't even begin to imagine what they were used for. The ceiling was far above her as she stood in the humongous entry way that allowed the Bots to enter and exit as they chose. The Autobots themselves were scattered about the building randomly, some in their natural form and some in their alt mode. Epps, who stood next to her, watched with a satisfied smirk as she gazed at them all in awe. She could see three motorcycles, a tow truck, and the rescue hummer. But the bipedal forms were the ones that drew her eye the most. There was a short black and compact black bot who looked to be arguing with a taller red and black one who was well armored and spiky looking. There was a large black mech, a swift looking silver one, and an electric blue one. _"Where's Optimus?"_ she wondered idly. She never would have thought that there would be so many robots on Earth. But then again, Optimus had said he was the commander, which meant there had to be an army.

Epps pulled her into the hangar and dragged her across the cement floor. She had never felt so small in her entire life than when she was forced out into the open like that. They made their way over towards a catwalk, set up so humans could be optic level with the majority of the bots, and climbed up a metal latter that looked more like a staircase. Ember paused at the top and let out a gush of air, surprised by the height of the structure. She looked over the edge a bit excitedly before looking up into shining blue eyes that belonged to the large black mech. When had he moved towards them? She hadn't even heard anything.

"I didn't think we'd see you in here until you were debriefed." The voice was that of Ironhide.

Ember gazed up into his face before taking a step closer and looking down over the railing of the catwalk at his feet far below. There was no way to describe how all the metal pieces fit together to form the giant in front of her. His size was very intimidating and she wondered how she could possibly train with such a gigantic being. In her excitement she forgot about their holoforms.

"Ironhide, it's nice to finally see you," she said jokingly. "But I think I accidently skipped the briefing."

"Already making trouble are you?" The gruff mech chuckled and shifted, creaking metal going silent in relief. His old gears probably needed to be cleaned soon, which meant a visit to Ratchet. Ironhide rolled his optics before turning back to the two humans in front of him.

"Don't worry about it, just avoid the she witch for a couple o' days and you'll be fine," Epps was saying. Ember looked a bit unsure and she slid her hands into her pockets, judging by human body language, Ironhide assumed she did this out of discomfort rather than comfort since she was still unfamiliar with her situation.

"I'll tell you everything tomorrow," Ironhide added.

Ember nodded and looked down at the cat walk in thought. She stifled a yawn, breathing in the humid night air that was being let in through the open sectioned door.

"Oh right, curfew." Epps looked at his digital watch, "Your gangs probably all in bed by now."

"Wait, I want to learn everyone's name," Ember said while leaning over the ramp to look at the vehicles on the cement floor below her.

"Ok, quick run through, you know Ratchet and Ironhide already so; the three motorcycles over there are Arcee, she has three units that make up one giant bot who packs a mean punch. The tow truck is LongArm. The little black bot is Beachbreak and the one he's fightin' with is Knockout. The blue guy over there is Jolt, he's pretty cool."

Ember attempted to follow Epps in all his quick paced introductions, and when she thought she had all the names down she turned to face the silver mech who had approached while Epps was speaking. "And who are you?" She asked in a daze.

The mech cleared his throat and in a smug tone replied, "I'm the asswipe."

"Sides?" Ember laughed and let her eyes take in the sleek and stylish Autobot. He chuckled and rolled forward on his tires wearing the mech version of a grin. She was glad that she had a friend on the inside, in a way, she had gotten to know Sides more in the time she had hung out with him at the concert. Speaking of which, "How'd you like your first human concert then?" She asked cheekily.

"It was amazing! I could feel my chassis vibrating they were blasting it so loud." Sides exclaimed excitedly. Had he been a bit younger, Ember could see him bouncing with joy, but his optics only glowed brightly while he moved a bit closer. She smiled up at him and crossed her arms.

"Then I guess I have to take you again next time," she said.

"Yes, I'm holding you to that promise."

"Calm yourself Sideswipe," Ironhide advised him in amusement, "You're going to pop a pipe."

Ember was eventually dragged away by Epps who didn't want to get Ember in trouble by being up past curfew. With thoughts, questions, and names to remember rolling around in her head, she didn't protest when Epps practically pushed her into her room bid her goodnight and closed the door behind her.

Standing in the same room as before, she perked up a bit at the sight of her luggage and swiftly pulled on her pajama pants and a tank top. She sat down on the bed and pulled her hair up out of her face, crossed her legs and took a moment to take in the room and allow her mind to settle. Her eyes wondered around while she organized her thoughts.

She had quit her school, moved out of her home, lied to her mother, and acquired a job working with a secret military organization. She was completely clueless about the chain of command, where she was even supposed to go to the next day for training, or how she was going to survive out in the field. She stood and placed her hand on her hip and took a deep soul cleansing breath and smiled. She was uncertain about her future, but the new experience was putting her in a better mood, so she relaxed and vowed to just wing it.

She jumped back onto the bed and pulled the covers up to her shoulders and closed her eyes.

…

…

…

Ember stared up at the ceiling two hours later, unable to sleep. Her room was unbearably stuffy, the sheets were scratchy, and her mind was too wired on giant aliens. She growled and sat up, good mood long forgotten, and rubbed at her face in frustration. She stood in the dark and moved over to her opened suitcase and crouched down, rifling through the clothes and down to the movies and pulled out the one movie she knew would calm her nerves.

She pulled her blanket off the bed and wrapped it around her shoulders snuggly. She closed her bedroom door quietly and stepped barefoot onto the cold floor as quietly as she could. She felt raw and exposed in the large hallway (more like all of NEST) by herself. The lights were off and all was quiet, but if she strained her ears she could just hear the sound of rumbling engines. The sound assured her that she wasn't alone on the otherwise silent island and she padded down the hall as quietly as she could. Her eyes stayed on the ground in front of her while her good hand was holding the DVD and blanket around her shoulders.

Sleep was never something that came easily to her. Ember was a very light sleeper honestly, the slightest noise would pull her from her slumber and the smallest worry or question could keep her up for hours. The only way for her to REALLY fall asleep was to wear herself out completely, or stay up till some ungodly hour and slowly drift off. When she was little she would often sneak out to the living room to watch TV, or the kitchen to get a snack, before even attempting to sleep. She smirked at being reminded of her childhood despite the foreignness of the base.

Ember sniffed, feeling her nose start to run in the cold AC that was turned up in an effort to battle the ferocious humidity outside. She hurried down the length of the hall and up a flight of stairs that led to ground level where she took another hall back to the 'best room ever'. The rec. room was empty when she opened the human sized door hesitantly. She peered around before making a mad dash across the floor and up the stairs; hoping over the back of a couch that sat in front of large TV. She landed ungracefully, flopping unto the cushions with a grin. The silence of the room officially disturbed, she had no qualms about thinking out loud while she figured out how to set up her movie. She stood and put the DVD into a player and closed it before snagging the remote from atop the player and gazing at it searchingly.

Muttering and mumbling she bent over the remote, "Ha!" she cried out when the main menu appeared on the flat screen. She jumped back onto the couch, glanced around the hangar one more time before pressing play. She snuggled down into her blanket and lay back happily. On the TV, comic book strips appeared, explaining the dark and disturbing story while creepy music played. It was a sweet relief to allow her mind to focus on something else other than her worries.

"What are you watching?"

Have you ever been so scared you actually froze and stopped thinking? Ember certainly has. She looked over the back of the couch at the last person she had expected to see so late at night and in the rec. room no less.

"What's up, Tim?" She greeted.

Had Optimus still been new to Earth, he probably would have actually looked up. But since he wasn't he merely smirked and responded by tilting his head in a mech shrug. The room was now filled with the sound of her movie and the Autobot commanders system; a humming spark, creaking metal, and venting.

"It's just a movie, it's called Repo the Genetic Opera." She finally answered and grimaced when there was the sound of screaming, slicing, and squelching.

"Humans are certainly strange creatures," Optimus muttered.

"Yeah, we're pretty gross and gory at times, but it's all fake." She shrugged and looked over the tall imposing mech curiously, wondering what he was doing up. But once again, did they even need to sleep?

"Why is that man singing while removing the other human's organs?" Optimus leaned over the railing curiously.

Snickering Ember answered, "This is a musical. Everyone sings in musicals, I don't really know why, but I love it. It's kind of my little secret." Ember rubbed at the back of her neck. She never thought she would ever have to describe musicals to an alien robot.

Optimus pulled his optics away from the screen and looked down at the girl, to another mech he would look concerned, but to a human he just looked confused. "Why are you up so late Ember?"

"Couldn't sleep," she replied with a shrug. Normally, she would turn back and watch her favorite movie, but it seemed disrespectful to her, and she didn't really want to insult the leader of the Autobots. _'That would be all I need right now,'_ she thought dully. Slyly, she asked, "Why are _you_ up so late?"

Optimus chuckled, "We don't really need to sleep." He explained. He fell silent, watching the TV, and shifted somewhat awkwardly. "Do you mind if I…" He began uncertainly.

"…Watch?" Ember finished for him, eyebrows raised in question. Optimus nodded once and Ember grinned. "Of course you can," she stated. Now, deciding it was safe, she turned back to face the TV to watch the movie. She pulled the blanket back around her and leaned back against the arm of the couch so she could keep the mech in her peripheral. "Indulge yourself in some of the darkest subjects of human culture."

He really did watch the movie, standing on the floor level and gazing at the television with rapt attention. Ember had to explain a lot of things to him like why there was music in the film and the whole idea of science fiction, but she was enjoying the conversations none the less. It was fun to instruct an older being by millions of years to stop thinking about it so logically and just go with the flow.

It was luck, that he had caught her at night; since all the humans were resting he didn't have much work to be done. Had it been during the day, Optimus wouldn't have been able to spare Ember more than a glance and a simple greeting, but as it turned out, most of the Autobots spent the nights socializing, albeit, quietly.

"I don't quite understand why Nathan poisoned Shiloh." Optimus voiced his confusion at the end of the movie. He turned his optics to Ember who was taking the time to think through her answer thoroughly.

"Well…" she trailed off. "It's like this; He loved her so much that he wanted her to stay with him." Ember explained uncertainly. She had never really thought about the feelings behind the bare facts of the movie before, she normally just accepted it as it was, but now that Optimus was asking questions she was starting to rethink all her assumptions. "It's kind of selfish really, but I don't think he ever meant to hurt her…" She trailed off again.

"There is much grey area among your species and their emotions." Optimus commented in a tone of slight amusement.

Ember snorted, "You're telling me!" She was an expert when it came to the 'grey areas' in relationships, not that she understood them any more than the next person, she was just generally used to the feeling of confusion when it came to matters of the heart. "The point is!" She pulled the mech back to the original subject, "He loved her and didn't want to lose her."

"I understand." Optimus said. His voice lowered in volume, suggesting that he understood that feeling all too well. Something akin to sympathy welled up inside of Ember and she bit her lip, reluctant to say anything in case it was not her place. She wasn't good when it came to comforting people…that was more of Shelby's thing. Normally, when she got sad she would just watch a funny movie or go out and do something to take her mind off of it.

"Do…" she scowled at her hesitant tone. "Do you…want to…talk about it?" Despite her trying, her voice still came out doubtful.

Optimus chuckled, but it sounded sad. "War stories are a good way to pass the time, but they often bring up more memories then I would care to remember." He lifted a hand and prodded her good shoulder in a gesture of assurance. "No, I know there is no value in dwelling in the past little one, don't you worry."

Ember said nothing while she watched the prime leave, listening to his fading steps and feeling a bit guilty. She was silent when the credits on the movie ended and went back to the main menu. And she was silent when another mech (knockout) entered the rec. room. However, eventually she realized what Optimus had said.

"Who's he calling 'little one'?" She exclaimed. Knockout gave her a strange look before picking up some kind of contraption from the ground floor and leaving quickly. She watched him go too, somewhat insulted. "Jerk," she stated sulkily.


	11. All the lights in the sky are stars

**A/N: Oh man, just saw the third movie and was completely blown away! I'm not going to spoil it for any of you guys, lol, just know that you should see it. An interesting problem popped up a while ago while reading a TF book. In it, Knockout is an Autobot who is young, impatient, and curious. But in the new cartoon TF Prime, Knockout is a decepticon who is sharp as a tack, sarcastic, and loves his paint job. I do love him in the cartoon though, Starscream orders him and Breakdown to continue buffing Megatron for his memorial to which knockout replied by raising his hand suspiciously XD and stating "Buff this." My 25 year old sister gasped XD **

**On another note, while I'm sitting here trying to work out the plot for this story I realized something; they really screwed up when making the movies! Duh. I've been piecing it together though, so it should turn out nicely I hope. **

Ember's POV

It was during one of those strange dreams, the ones where you know for a fact that you're not dreaming because everything seems so real up until you wake up, that's when I think it really sunk in; my life, no matter what I did, was never going to be the same. So while I was sitting on an ivy covered wooden swing that hung from a tree, and rain fell watering the grass around me, that I finally accepted my fate. To just let go and focus on what was in front of me. A kind of determination I had never known before built up inside me and I was suddenly compelled to get up and just _do_ something. It was also when an intense burning overcame me and I woke with a start, feeling like my shoulder was on fire.

I groaned and clutched at the offending body part. Besides me, the Rec. Room was empty and devoid of any other occupants so I didn't mind letting off a spiel of choice words while I sat up and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. Despite the pain, I noticed, I felt rather refreshed, more so than I should have after spending a night on an old worn out couch that had probably seen more action than any furniture had a right to. I glanced around blearily, and noticed that the lights had been dimmed and the TV turned off. I found this strange, since I'm generally the kind of person who never really bothered to turn stuff off… which would explain my high electric bill.

Leaning back against the couch with a tired sigh I tried to relax, hoping to ease my sore shoulder. The distant sound of metallic feet hitting concrete caused me to glance over the top of the couch in curiosity. My curiosity, however, was quickly replaced by a strange combination of excitement, joy, and dread as Ironhide stepped into the dim light. If I didn't know any better, I would say he was wearing a smug look on his ugly mug. My face must have said as much because he let out a pleasant chuckle that to anyone else would have sounded scary. But I knew his type, rough and cold on the outside, warm and fluffy on the inside.

"Don't give me that look femme, you knew today was coming." He stated with amusement clear in his tone. He stopped just at the railing of the observation deck; much like Optimus had last night, and placed his hand on his hips and cocked his head to the side.

"And what exactly, is so important about today?" I asked dryly. I inwardly grimaced, hearing my tired and groggy voice.

Ironhide chuckled again, "Today is the first day you get you aft handed to you on a silver platter, with many more to follow." It was said with such promise that I had no trouble in believing him.

I decided that that really didn't sound too good and briefly toyed with the idea of darting down one of the smaller human designed hallways to escape when Ironhide quirked a metal brow in question. I shrugged and gave him a nervous grin.

"Go get yourself some food before reporting back to me." He instructed. I could follow those directions to a T, easy as pie, speaking of which…

My stomach chose that moment to make itself known by letting out a horrendous growl. It sounded kind of angry at being ignored for so long. "Jeez," I exclaimed under my breath. I'm not sure I had ever been so hungry before in my life. Epiphanies can do that to a person apparently.

"I won't wait long," he added.

I won't lie, I was actually really excited to start training, but I was a bit worried about how I would do. Nevertheless, I practically jumped off the couch, gathered my blanket and movie, and rushed out of the room. I must have been quite a sight to the majority of the earlier birds; rushing down the hallway in pajamas carrying an overstuffed blanket with one arm, I must have looked like a madwoman. Amazingly, I managed to find my way back to my room where I changed into a decent pair of shorts and a tank top, brushed my hair and teeth, and left for the cafeteria.

It was disappointing to find that my friends were still nowhere to be seen. I was beginning to wonder if Ariella had killed them and left them in a ditch like Cody had first suggested. Somehow, it wouldn't surprise me.

I stared down at my eggs and pushed them around the plate with my fork absently, thinking I should probably hurry up and finish. The idea of an angry Ironhide would be funny, but only if his anger was directed at someone else and not me. Where was I supposed to report to him anyways? No one ever told me. But then again, I did skip the briefing didn't I?

Glancing around at the few people that were up this early, I sighed and stood; taking my tray over to the trash can set up next to the entrance and dumped it before leaving. I guess I would just go back to the rec. room and hope Ironhide was still there, or at least another bot I could ask to direct me to him. My converse squeaked against the painted concrete floor as I traversed the empty hallways at a casual pace that I would probably regret later, but I didn't really care at the moment. It was nice to take things slow.

Normal POV

When Ember entered the Rec. Room she was thankful to find the mech in question still present. She walked towards the railing but Ironhide gesture towards the stairs; she obligingly headed for the staircase. Ironhide turned away from her and crossed his arms with a vent. She raised a brow when she reached the railing. Knockout stood in front of the old bot with his fists clenched.

"I won't train with a human femme," he was saying. He glanced over to her as she made her way down the steps. "Much less one who talks to herself."

Ember slowed to a stop and stared, her face clearly asking _'did you really just go there?'_ She lifted her hand from the railing and placed it on her hip. "Well I don't want to train with a midget," she declared haughtily. Knockout stared stunned before growling and taking a step towards her. He was a bit small for a mech, but was certainly bigger than Beachbreak who happened to be only eight feet tall. No one called him short. Ironhide chuckled and reached for Knockout's shoulder and pulled him back away from the human.

"Easy you two, you're going to be stuck with each other for a while, so get used to it." Knockout stepped back and snorted, he waved the two of them off and turned his back to them in annoyed anger.

"What's stuck up his tail pipes?" Ember thumbed in the short mechs direction with a questioning look. Ironhide rumbled in amusement.

"Nothing," Knockout's sarcasm practically oozed over his shoulder but it quickly turned into anger. "Just the fact that while Bumblebee and Hot Rod and Sideswpie and Sunstreker and just about any other bot you could think of has trained with another bot, I get stuck with a squishy." While he shouted, he gestured with his hands wildly, throwing them up in the air in defeat.

Ember took on a worried expression before she looked down at her stomach and poked it. Her eyebrows scrunched together and she raised a fist at the red and black bot in anger, "I'm not that squishy!" Knockout shook his head and rubbed at his face plates in sheer frustration. "Besides, apparently it was a human who took down Megatron, and he's younger than me." Ember pointed out smugly. Knockout had no response to that.

"You're still new to Earth Knockout, so I'll remind you of what Optimus told you last week; Do not underestimate the humans," Ironhide warned. He turned to Ember and gently plucked her from the stairs and set her on the ground impatiently. "Now, the reason you two are training together is because no one else on base needs to be trained, so put a cork in it," he finished gruffly.

Ember adjusted her sling and stared up at the big mech while he spoke, a bit annoyed at being picked up unceremoniously. Next to her, Knockout crossed his arms and vented quietly.

"Today, I want to work on both of your flexibility." He stepped back and leaned against the concrete wall casually. "So, let's start with the femme," he turned his optics down to Ember who rolled her eyes at the title. "Touch your fingers to your toes," he stated simply.

"Yes Sir oh wise mech," Ember grumbled, she didn't see what the point of testing her flexibility when she had one arm in a sling, but she did as he instructed anyways. When she stood strait again, Knockout was staring at her with his head cocked. "What?"

"Most mechs can't do that," Ironhide explained dully, "Knockout, however, is an exception because of his size and shape."

Ember snickered, which caused Knockout to glare. "What?" he exclaimed.

"Nothing," Ember assured him, "Bet you can't do this." She lifted her one good arm in the air and bent backwards until she touched the ground, although, her arm trembled without the help of the other. She felt like she was back in elementary school showing off to all her friends.

"Primus, that looks painful," Knockout whispered in amazement.

"Do it," Ironhide ordered.

"What?" the small mech squawked.

Ember pulled herself up and watched on curiously, as Knockout was forced to bend backwards until he flopped to the ground in an undignified heap on the floor. The sound was loud enough to draw a few spectators, and the impact was strong enough to cause Ember to wobble on her feet.

And so, a rivalry was born.

The training session continued on in that manner for quite some time; Ember performing one armed tricks while Knockout worked to mimic them. Ember learned that, unlike the human body, a cybertonian with a body like Knockout's, could reformat and evolve within hours. So while it took Ember months to learn how to do a split way back in middle school, it took Knockout only an hour. Ironhide explained that it was only because he was small. Larger mechs like himself had it more difficult because their bodies were already fitted with so much weaponry and tools that they couldn't reformat so easily. Or that was the basics of it; Ember was finding it hard to follow the technological jargon. But what she was able to follow was the tiny bit of jealousy she felt wiggling inside of her. Obviously, she was going to have to work hard to even stay within range of Knockout.

"Until Ember's shoulder is healed, we will be focusing on speed, flexibility, and invisibility." Ironhide crouched down in front of Ember then, who was a bit out of breath from straining her muscles. She hadn't been really active other than riding her bike to and from work for a couple years now, to be suddenly forced back into other physical activities left her feeling tired and pathetic. He scanned her shoulder and sent the data to Ratchet to examine later. The nanobots seemed to be doing their job in repairing her torn muscles, but it would still take time. "Ember, your job will require you to blend in with the people around you and sometimes even sneak into highly secured buildings. You will be tracking down any and all Decepticon related rumors you can get your hands on."

"So I'm a spy?" Ember raised a brow and glanced over at Knockout, who was looking a bit leaner than he had that morning. He was testing out his new flexibility curiously.

"Essentially," Ironhide said. He stood back to his full height and his optics dimmed. His human holoform flickered to life in front of her and reached for her lame arm. She shifted away nervously. "Relax, you need to move it otherwise the nanos won't know how the muscle should work and end up making the injury worse," he reached for her arm again and this time she did not move. He pulled the sling off over her shoulder and over her head, allowing her arm to hang by her side. Immediately, Ember moved to hold it against her chest, unable to stand the pain from that simple action, but Ironhide held her other arm still.

"_**Go slow Ironhide, humans cannot simply turn off their pain receptors like we can."**_ Ratchet stated over their private connection. He was currently in the makeshift medical bay he had created for himself going over the scans the weapons specialist had sent him.

"Start with your fingers and work your way up," Ironhide wiggled his holoforms fingers demonstrating what he wanted her to do. Knock out crouched down next to the two and watched on curiously. Ember wiggled her fingers, feeling little pain in her shoulder. She tried her wrist and winced, feeling a bit more pain, but it was more like a sore muscle after working out the day before. And then she took a breath and bent her arm, moving her elbow. She shook her head and dropped it back to her side, the pain was too much.

"I can't," she stated breathlessly. Ironhide pulled the sling back over her head and helped her arm back into it silently.

"We'll try again tomorrow," he patted her on the other shoulder encouragingly.

"Humans are so frail," Knockout commented. Unknowingly echoing Sideswipe from days earlier.

"Shut up or I'll weld your mouth shut," Ember retorted.

"But feisty," he added humorously, "I think I'm beginning to like this species."

Ember shook her head and sighed. She glanced down at her shoulder in ire before kicking at the nearest wall. Her injury was going to grate against every nerve she had until she would feel the need to saw it off in frustration, which would just make it worse. She never enjoyed being useless or in the way, and her shoulder was making her feel just that. It was just like all those old cartoons with giant robots; the humans always got in the way. What could she possibly do that a bot with a clever holoform couldn't?

….

"Starscream," Megatron's voice echoed throughout the ship. The air commander appeared from the darkness and bowed at his lord's feet. "Go to Cybertron and report to-."

"Isn't it a bit early, my lord? What about our search for the Allspark?" Starscream interrupted quizzically. Megatron stared at him blankly, but Starscream knew he was angered.

"It will continue while we await his arrival." the Decepticon leader shifted and rested his head against a loose fist, his other hand drummed against the arm rest of his throne. "This is the solar system he described after all," he explained in a bored tone.

"Maybe one of these planets is playing host to the Allspark then…"Starscream trailed off and shifted nervously.

"I will search for it while you are away, Starscream," Megatron vented, "now go!"

The underling bowed again before leaving the room. Megatron watched him go before turning his optics to the window on his left. Outside a fragile blue planet spun.

….

Lunch was a relief. She was tired of feeling like taffy, being pulled all which way. What the heck was Ironhide trying to teach them anyways? How to distract people with crazy tricks? She poked at her chicken absently, then smirked, this morning she had been eating eggs. The irony.

"Hey, where've you been?" Cody slid into the seat in front of Ember and dropped his tray onto the table, it clattered before laying still.

"Around," Ember replied vaguely. _'It is kind of fun giving vague answers,'_ she thought. She took a bite of her lunch and looked up at the man. He was dressed in a black shirt and camo pants. She paused and stared. "What did you do to you hair?" She sounded horrified.

"I buzzed it, duh. You can't have emo boy hair on a military base." He chuckled and used his fork to cut up his own chicken. "I'd probably get beat up," he added under his breath.

Ember snorted and examined him from under her bangs, wondering how much he was going to change in the future. Would they always be friends? Or would he turn into some kind of cold hearted military man who was used to seeing his comrades die in battle? She shook her head to rid herself of the melancholy thoughts. As idiotic as he was, she didn't want to imagine life without his friendship; he was just too good at cheering her up with his silly antics.

"So where are Taylor and Shelby?" She asked casually.

"Please, the second they stepped into the building they were mobbed by excited geeks and taken away. I don't think we'll be seeing much of them." He snorted and lifted his soda up to his mouth.

"Hey guys!" Shelby smacked him in the back, causing him to choke on his drink and spit it out onto his tray. Ember grimaced. "We get to take lunch whenever the heck we want, isn't that awesome?" She took a seat next to Cody and straightened her uniform self consciously.

"Yeah, where's Taylor?" Ember asked. It was unusual for the bespectacled girl to travel alone. She generally enjoyed the company of another person because she grew bored far too quickly and liked to talk. The first time Ember had met her, she had followed her around the entire day chattering away as if they had known each other since preschool.

"Over there, talking to some super hot guy she works with now," Shelby replied. She gestured behind her and Ember spotted the blond sitting next to a tall brown haired blue eyed…well…he was_ very _good looking.

"Romance? Already? Damn." Ember reached over and stole Cody's roll of bread happily.

"Really? It's like I'm back in high school. Are you going to give me a swirly next?" Cody complained sulkily and scooted further away from the red head and out of her reach.

"Oh please, you never got a swirly," Ember rolled her eyes and gave him half of his roll back just to shut him up.

"No, but I almost fell in once," he pointed out before shoving the rest of the roll into his mouth before she could change her mind. No one ever knew what Ember would do when she was in a good mood.

"So where's your uniform?" Shelby asked. She pulled at her own as an example.

"No clue, Ironhide probably doesn't care and I don't really have a job yet…" She twirled her fork around her food thoughtfully before shrugging.

Ember's schedule was simple; every morning she reported to Ironhide to train with Knockout after breakfast, then lunch, then report back to train some more until dinner. The last few hours of the day were her free time, and she normally did nothing but chat with Cody or Taylor and Shelby. But the girls were rarely found; Ember figured that whatever it was they were doing it was important, so she didn't really mind. She started to get the feeling that Ironhide was rushing to get her into shape for field work; at least, that was her theory-Otherwise there really wasn't a reason to train her ass off without a day off—and she chose to stick with it. And every day he had her test her shoulder while Knockout watched curiously and commented on the human body. By the end of the first week she could move her shoulder without his help and he promptly disposed of the sling, saying that she wouldn't need it any longer. The nanobots were still at work on her muscles, but Ratchet explained that it would only take another week for all soreness to stop completely.

The next day Ironhide instructed Ember to begin working on her stamina. He said something to Knockout in cybertronian before falling back into English and said that he and Ratchet would be gone for a week on a short mission. He wouldn't answer any questions after that and Ember and Knockout shared a confused look before continuing with their usual exercises.

"I don't get it, I've been here almost a month and I still haven't been assigned a mission. I feel like my skills are going to waste," Knockout stated with a dramatic sigh that was tragically human. He was seated a couple feet away from Ember with one leg lifted and his arm resting on it. Whenever he shifted too quickly his armor would scrap against the concrete and send sparks up into the air.

Ember raised a brow while she rolled her shoulder, standing balanced on a thin bar over a mat. "You poor thing," she replied dryly. She wobbled and threw her arms out to regain her balance. "How long do I have to do this?"

"Until you stop losing your balance," Knockout stated while examining his paint job. He had started tutoring her in Ironhide's place. When it was just the two of them, they discovered, they got along rather well. They even traded sarcastic comebacks.

"Well there's really not any Decepticon activity going on. All the big bots are doing is political stuff that I really don't feel like explaining because it's way too complicated and boring." She wobbled again. This time her foot slipped and she toppled off the bar onto the mat, sending out a cloud of dust as she landed. The mats had been pulled out of an old storage room, so there was no surprise that they had gone unused for so long that they had gathered dust. She sat up and sneezed.

Knockout blinked and rolled his optics. She was truly hopeless, he decided. To get her to the point where she could actually go out in the field successfully would take decades. "Your attempts are admirable, but frankly, you fail," he said.

Ember stood and brushed off her shirt and shorts before looking at him and flicking him off. "Your face is a fail," she retorted before climbing back up onto the extremely thin balancing beam.

"My face was sculpted by some of the best artists on Cybertron," Knockout explained dully.

"'Some of'." She giggled when he revved his engine in annoyance. Although she wouldn't tell him, his face was more eye catching than the others. But she liked Ironhide's face too because it reminded her of a tiger, and Optimus looked pretty bad ass when he had his battle mask on. But Knockout's was smoother and more human looking than the others. She hummed in thought when she realized that Sideswipe had a nice face too, especially when he was happy.

"What about Sideswipe?" She asked.

"His brother _is_ one of the best artists from Cybertron," he muttered and leaned towards her and prodded her lightly with a delicate claw, trying to knock her off balance. She smacked at the metal appendage in annoyance before falling off the bar again, this time backwards.

"Sides has a brother?" She questioned from her position on the ground, content to relax for a few moments.

Knockout made a noise, something between a hum and a rumble that Ember had learned to take as a yes. "A twin actually, but Sunstreaker isn't as friendly as Sideswipe," he said while absently flicking one of her shoes across the room (she had taken them off for the balance beam).

The two sat in a comfortable silence until the door of their preferred hanger was pulled back and a rather nervous looking mech slid in quickly before shutting it behind him. The small black bot approached the two hurriedly.

"What's up?" Knockout questioned in a concerned tone.

"Hey Knockout, Longarm was yelling at Sideswipe and I didn't want to stick around. I think I saw him reaching for a wrench, he must have been channeling Ratchet," he chuckled and sat down next to the larger bot. "So what are you doing?" He asked conversationally, he could have just used the comm. System so he must have been speaking out loud for Ember's benefit, but he had yet to acknowledge her presence.

"Training," Knockout answered dully while turning his optics back to Ember who was climbing back up onto the bar. He watched her, calculating, "straighten your posture." Ember did as instructed and was surprised to find it much easier to balance, but she didn't show it.

"It's nice to meet you Ember," Beachbreak said awkwardly.

"Oh, you too…Beachbreaker was it?" She ended on a question. Next to the smaller mech, Knockout smirked.

"It's Beachbreak," he answered in amusement.

"Oh, my bad, I suck at names," Ember replied. She glanced down at her feet and wobbled.

"Don't look at your feet," Knockout interrupted casually. Ember nodded and looked up at the two mechs instead, finding them more interesting to look at anyways. The two were talking to each other quietly until Knockout laughed and punched Beachbreak in the shoulder playfully. The action made Ember pause and think about how similar they were to humans; they made friends and joked just like humans did. She smiled, finding them all the more interesting, she had been waiting to ask someone about Cybertron for a while, wanting to know what it had been like, but she felt it wasn't her place. Maybe if she got close enough to one of them she could. She wanted to know what their society had been like, what kind of art did they have? Music? What about food? Did they have different flavored energon? Did femmes go shopping there? Could they get new armor like humans did clothes?...

"…Ember?"

She looked up at the two who were staring at her questioningly. Knockout was actually leaning over onto his hands and knees, staring into her face in worry.

"Oops, I zoned." She laughed, "I got sidetracked, sorry."

"You've been standing there for ten minutes, congratulations, we can move on to something else," Knockout stated. Beachbreak chuckled, he had seen several other humans zone and take on an expression similar to them when they were listening over the comm. System. It was quite amusing.

"Good, I was starting to feel like the Karate Kid there for a second," Ember said with a relieved sigh. She hoped off the bar and reached for her nearest shoe. "Just don't ever ask me to wax you," she added as an afterthought. The reference was lost on the two, but Ember chuckled anyways. She spotted her other shoe, which was all the way across the hangar and looked pointedly to Knockout. The mech moved to pick it up while carrying on the conversation.

"Tomorrow I think we should practice on stealth. Us bots tend to be a bit noisier than you humans." Knockout returned her shoe to her, having to bend down so she could pull it out of his grasp.

"Well, that doesn't surprise me, you're all metal, you probably make enough noise to wake the dead just by walking down the hall," Ember said while she slipped her shoes on.

"Yeah well, humans are emotional and squishy," Knockout retorted.

"Am I sensing racism here?" Ember asked playfully.

"You guys act like an old bonded couple, Primus," Beachbreak broke up the sarcastic banter with a laugh.

"Ew, gross, she smells," Knockout wrinkled his face up in such a way that Ember found it hard not to burst into a fit of laughter.

"And he's obnoxious," she added.

"You are so hilarious," Knockout deadpanned.

"I wasn't trying to be," Ember stated.

Knockout fell silent and Beachbreak laughed out right at the stunned expression on his face. Ember smirked while Knockout dropped to the ground, one hand resting behind Ember so that he was looming over her threateningly. Ember took half a step back, worried confusion written on her face, had she seriously offended him that much? She could hear the eerily familiar whining of a canon charging and she was reminded of running from the angry decepticon a week ago. Beachbreak stopped laughing, but he made no move against his friend. Ember was beginning to wonder if she should run for her life when Knockout smirked.

"Punk, I ought to teach you a thing or two," he chuckled when Ember practically melted in relief.

"Jerk!" She lashed out with her foot and kicked him in the thigh.

"You seem to enjoy calling me that," Knockout said through his laughter while he looked at the shoeprint she had left on his black paint.

"Caus it's true," Ember shot back. She kicked him again, right next to her first shoe print. He did nothing to stop her so she did so one more time, but she dragged her foot under the first two, smearing dirt in an arched line. All together they formed a smiley face. She tilted her head to admire her work while Knockout continued to snicker, barely registering her kicks at all.

"Are you through?" he asked several seconds later.

"I think so," Ember replied airily. She rolled her shoulder and rubbed at it while Knockout turned his head in Beachbreak's direction.

"I was a bit worried there for a second," the small mech admitted sheepishly. He shifted a foot when the room fell into an awkward silence after he spoke.

Knockout said nothing, but his face was blank of any emotion. His optics offlined for a second and he vented. "I would never, Beachbreak," he assured sadly, "some things are better left forgotten." Ember watched the exchange peculiarly. The red and black mech glanced down at Ember and she was a bit stunned by the amount of sadness she saw there, but it turned to anger in a matter of seconds and he clenched his free hand into a fist and slammed it onto the ground. "Damnit all! I've tried my hardest; I don't know what else you mechs want me to do!" He pushed himself away from her and rested an arm on his knee while the other supported his head.

Beachbreak was silent; regret seemed to be flowing off of him in droves. "I'm sorry Knockout, I didn't mean-."

"Just go," he cut off the smaller mech.

"But-."

"Go!" He pulled his head up and glared at the bot with all he had.

Beachbreak vented and stared down at the ground before sparing a glance at Ember and leaving. He left quietly and quickly, just like he had come. She felt bad for the smaller bot, being yelled at by Knockout seemed to have really brought him down.

When the door slid shut Ember turned to Knockout, who had dropped his head back down, in concern. She remained silent, not knowing what to say, but his defeated posture was too much for her to ignore. She fisted her hand and lightly tapped her knuckles against his leg.

"Not now femme," he shot down her attempt easily.

Ember quirked a brow and sighed. She crossed her arms and leaned her back against his thigh; Knockout got the feeling that she wasn't going to leave. But he was a being capable of ignoring others for as long as it was needed. "People doubt, you know," she stated after a minute or so.

He was silent for another moment before responding, "Yes, but it's been centuries. I don't understand why some still do."

Ember's curiosity was roused, but she reined it in, in light of the situation. She honestly wanted to know what was going on with him and the other mechs, but she figured it wouldn't do well to pry. "Well, maybe it's not you he's doubting," she said.

"Then who _is_ he doubting?" He asked more in annoyance than honest curiosity.

"Himself," she answered quietly. She kicked at the ground while Knockout remained quiet and deep in thought for quite some time. She allowed her mind to wander while the mech remained silent. _'He said centuries…'_ she thought, _'how long do these guys live? Can they live forever?'_ She rubbed her eyes and glanced over to the digital clock that hung over the door and was a bit surprised by the time, it was nearing midnight. She felt the warm metal against her back shift and was stunned when Knockout lifted her into his lap and leaned back against the wall to look at her.

"How can you people be so wise in some things, but so utterly naïve in others?" He asked with a soft smirk, seeming tired.

Ember shrugged from her new spot and leaned back against his legs, mimicking his position. "Part of being human I guess," she said with a shrug, "We can be totally awesome one moment, and then completely lame another." Knockout vented (Ember actually felt the warm air) and closed his optics again. She waited for him to say something else, but when he didn't even open his optics she grew puzzled. Had he fallen asleep? "Knockout?" she questioned.

"Hmm?" He onlined one optic to look at her.

"What are you doing?" she asked wryly.

"Nothing," he replied and closed the optic again.

They fell silent again and Ember sighed and closed her eyes too, thinking _'Aw what the hell?'_ Relaxing after a long day of training (goofing off) wasn't a crime; it was really nice to just sit in peace for a change. The day had been a bit crazy since Ironhide had left the day before. They had argued back and forth all morning trying to decide on what to do and, eventually, they had just settled on normal exercises to keep in shape. Then Knockout had commented on her clumsiness, which lead to the balance training.

She was actually beginning to drift off, the sound of whirring gears and air flowing through the bot was lulling her into a light sleep. The rest of the hangar was silent except for the florescent lights that buzzed far overhead.

But then her stomach let out a loud growl and twisted into knots of hunger, demanding attention.

Knockout burst into a fit of laughter while she rubbed at her heavy eyes wearily. She had been about to sleep, something that was very precious to her, but her stomach had the guts to wake her up? Well, duh, of course it did. "Jerk," she muttered and turned, attempting to get comfortable again. Knockout was unsure if she was calling him a jerk, or her stomach.

"You should probably get something to eat," he said in an attempt to draw her out of her drowsy state, but the rumbling of his deep voice only lulled her deeper.

"S' fine," she mumbled and pulled her knees up to her chest.

"Well, then you should go to bed," he pushed himself away from the wall. She felt him lift her out of his lap and place her on the ground on her feet. She groaned and blinked in the bright lights of the hangar sulkily. Knockout chuckled and stood, folding in on himself he took the shape of a powerful motorcycle. "Hop on then," he instructed.

Ember sighed and climbed onto the bike blearily. He rolled forward and left the hangar with a barely conscious Ember. He took the large hallways to the barracks, driving as silently as he could, trying not to wake the sleeping humans as he passed their quarters.

"Which room is yours?" he asked after passing several doors. The hallways were dark since it was long after curfew so he flipped on his light in an effort to help the human find her residence.

"That one," she gestured towards the last door on his right. He pulled to a stop and waited silently while Ember slid off of him and opened her door sluggishly. He waited until she was safely inside before pulling away and heading for an exit. It was a nice night to go for a drive on the beach.

…

Knockout pulled to a stop at the side of the road that ran along the beach and paused; the form of Optimus Prime was seated on the sand, allowing waves to wash over his pedes. Knockout's first instinct was to leave, and he turned to do just that, the idea of sitting with the prime wasn't all that appealing at the moment. He paused, however, and vented before turning back to face the Prime. He rolled off the road and onto the sand, approaching quietly.

"Knockout," Optimus greeted. Any other voice would have disrupted the peaceful atmosphere of the quiet night, but his deep baritones only seemed to make it more so.

Knockout came to a stop and transformed, he nodded to his leader before sitting down next to him. Yes, he would have normally avoided the confrontation he had no doubt was coming, but he felt like he owed it to Ember to speak with the Prime. She had attempted to help him with his problem that she knew nothing about, somehow, he thought that running from this would only dishonor her.

"Beachbreak told me about what happened earlier…"Optimus trailed off, hoping the younger mech would pick up from where he had left off and explain the situation from his own perspective. He glanced down at him when he did not before continuing, "He believes you are a dear friend and did not mean it in the way that you think."

Knockout snorted and absently drew a cybertronian glyph in the sand. Eventually he spoke, "I know he didn't, but I didn't understand at the time."

Optimus turned and looked out at the stars, a bit amazed by how they reflected off of the water. "He grows nervous whenever humans are involved, he thinks they are too frail," he explained quietly. He shifted in the sand and dragged one foot out of the water.

Knockout was silent in thought before he groaned and flopped back onto the sand in frustration. Optimus chuckled and looked back at him amusedly. "Some still doubt me Prime," he stated seconds later.

"Well, that is not unexpected. You did defect after all."

Knockout vented and turned over on his side, his blue optics illuminating the sparkling sand around them.

**A/N: Tehe, I love my Knockout , he's the NEST's resident Drama King. So this chapter was a bitch to write, but by the end of it I started to have fun. The relationship between Ember and Knockout will not be a romance, unless you want it to, then I may write it so that if you squint it will seem like it. Lol. Now I will start to follow the book that bridges the two movies and I'll just slip my characters in there nicely without really changing any of the outcomes :)**


	12. pumped up kicks

**A/N: Something I find interesting is that the Transformers novels have the same bots from the movies but with different names or new bots all together. It's confusing. But I just love how just about every transformer name I type is underlined as a misspelled word XD**

**There is a reference to the Fast and Furious movies in this chapter BTW, first person to figure it out gets…well….a congrats?**

**And has anyone noticed that all the chapter titles are songs that fit the chapter? Just wondering because I can't remember if I explained that or not. Ha Ha.**

"EEEEMMMMBBBEEERRRRR!"

There were nicer things to wake up to than the sound of someone screaming you're name. Ember sighed and opened her eyes. The voice was a familiar one, but she was finding it hard to put a face to it.

"Come on! You gotta meet the new bots!" The voice drifted through the door, muffled and sounding a wee bit whiney. She pulled herself out of bed and shuffled across the cold floor to open the door. The light that poured in left her rubbing at her eyes and blinking blearily at the fuzzy figure of Sideswipe's holoform. "I like the new look! Are you going to stay like that?"

Ember looked down at her batman pajama shorts and her purple tank top in confusion. Her hair was a mess and sticking up every which way and the little bit of eyeliner she had put on yesterday was smudged, leaving her looking like a raccoon. She scowled and shut the door in the autobot's face.

She turned to gather her things for her morning routine and jumped when the holofrom appeared right in front of her.

"Funny thing about holoforms, they can go through walls." His sarcasm was ignored by Ember, who moved in front of her mirror and brushed her choppy styled hair into some form of semblance. "Hurry it up," he exclaimed. Clearly he was too excited for Ember for she shot a glare over her shoulder before continuing with her hair, her roots were beginning to show she realized moodily. "You're not a morning person are you?"

She threw down her brush in annoyance and moved over to the small dresser and pulled out a pair of jeans and a black band t-shirt with Sides following her every move. She turned and stared at him pointedly, holding up her jeans, and waited. The human form blinked at her blankly and she groaned.

"Out," she ordered.

"You humans are so touchy," he muttered but moved for the door nonetheless. Ember waited till he was gone before pulling on her clean clothes quickly. Her mind was still on autopilot when she grabbed her cell phone and toothbrush before stepping out the door and closing it behind her. Sideswipe was waiting for her in his alternate form, the engine warm and revving. The driver's side door popped open and Ember slid into the leather seat with a sigh.

"Stop at the bathroom would you?" She said while looking down at her toothbrush. He drove forward around the small groups of people who were surprisingly active for a Monday morning.

"Sure thing," he replied. His voice came from the speakers around her and Ember fought the sudden odd feeling that overcame her, the fact that she was in the divers seat threw her off, she felt like it wasn't her car…which it wasn't. She was used to seeing the holoform in her place, and without him, it seemed more like she had borrowed the corvette rather than _it _borrowing _her_.

"So who are the new bots?" she asked while staring out the window at the people who walked by.

"Well, none of them are really new to Earth, it's just that you haven't met them before," Sides amended. He stopped in front of the showers and allowed Ember to climb out.

"Oh, well, ok then," she replied uncertainly. She stepped into the tiled room and belatedly realized she was bare foot, the cold floor biting into her feet with a vengeance. She walked to the sinks on the balls of her feet and quickly brushed her teeth, ignoring the strange looks she earned from some of the other woman. _'Does no one wear normal clothes around here or something? Jeez, they act like I'm walking around in my birthday suit,'_ she thought wryly. She shoved the cleaning utensil into her pocket and exited the showers just as quickly.

"Sides, I forgot shoes," she stated, her voice laced with annoyance.

The Autobot revved his engine and popped his door open, "to bad, no one cares if you have shoes or not. Now let's go!" He rolled forward impatiently. The mech was to hyper to cater to her needs, so Ember rolled her eyes and slid into the seat once more.

He drove as quickly as he could without harming anyone, scaring them half to death was another story though. Blazing down the halls at alarming speeds, Ember was amused by the explosions of paper and spilt coffee that Sideswipe left behind in his wake.

"Have you ever considered drag racing?" she asked casually.

"Epps brought it up once," Sideswipe replied, "said something about taking me one day, but then Will said it was illegal."

"Pfft, everything worthwhile is illegal," she muttered.

Sideswipe pulled to a stop in the Autobot hangar and Ember was stunned into silence. She had talked to nearly all of the bots at one point or another throughout the week, but seeing them all standing tall and proud in one room was kind of intimidating. She was unfamiliar with the two squat mechs, both being a variation of orange, who were arguing with each other. Off a ways from the rest of the group was a tall and very streamlined looking red mech who was casually observing everyone else in the room. And then, right in the thick of the group, was a chatter box of a blue mech, he was holding a strange device out to Ratchet who was attempting to push it away.

The corvette opened his door and Ember obligingly hopped out, her bare feet slapping against the pavement. She moved away and towards the small group of familiar humans who were standing close to the wall. Allowing Sideswipe to transform and join the rest of the group. She didn't notice that when he did revert to his bipedal form, he a made a weird face and reached under his stomach plating, earning him quizzical looks from a few other mechs.

"Hey guys," she greeted wearily. The three young men, Austin, Tanner, and Cody turned to look at her.

"I figured one of them would drag you out here," Cody said in way of greeting. He ruffled her carefully brushed hair in such a manner that, had it been any other person, Ember would have killed him.

"She's really popular with them, let me tell you," Austin added with a chuckle. He slid his hands into his pockets and glanced over at the grouping. They were all speaking in their strange language of computerized clicks and whistles.

"Get a load of that new guy, he's a spazz and a half," Tanner commented, pointing over to the new blue mech. Up on the catwalk set up in the middle of the building, several techies and military men stared in stunned amazement at the speed of which the mech was talking.

"I like him," Cody admitted happily. He jokingly punched Tanner in the shoulder and laughed when he rubbed at it sulkily.

"Ember…" She glanced behind her and blinked. Sideswipe stood over her holding out her toothbrush to her; behind him several of the mechs were watching curiously and snickering. "You left this in the front seat," he laughed good naturedly. Ember took the offending object and shrugged apologetically.

"Sorry Sides," she said simply.

"It's no problem; I just don't think it's very healthy for me to keep it there." The mech replied with his own apologetic shrug. Behind her, Cody was struggling not to laugh, going as far as to cover his mouth.

"You're just a mess this morning Ember; you forgot your toothbrush, your shoes, and…" Tanner leaned forward curiously, "did you even remember underwear?"

Cody stopped laughing abruptly and stared at Tanner like he had just grown a second head, then he peeked over at Ember, who was staring at the pervert with a deadpanned expression.

"Did you remember to wear a cup?" she asked just as curiously.

"What's that got to do with anything?" Tanner sounded truly confused, so Ember (with a smile) decided to show him.

Needless to say, her actions left Cody and Austin split between feeling sympathetic or laughing their asses off. They ended up doing both. While snickering they helped the poor unsuspecting man off the ground and sat him on a crate.

"What'd he do?" Knockout asked as he approached from the far side of the hangar with Beachbreak following him curiously. He stared down at the human form huddled over on the crate with amusement.

"Asked her if she remembered un-." he was cut off.

"Shut up!" Ember exclaimed. "Does nobody have a shred of decency around here? Jesus!" She continued to rant explaining the difference between men and gentlemen and how chivalry was dead, but about halfway through she realized even the three mechs had gained a bored expression, and Cody was actually texting on his phone. "Men," she uttered the word with absolute hate.

"Maybe you should go lesbian then," Cody proposed.

"I'll go lesbian when you go gay, Mr. I-can't-keep-it-in-my-pants!" Ember shot back. Cody held his hands out, one still holding his phone, in surrender.

"It was just a suggestion, jeez," he defended himself.

Austin shook his head in something akin to disappointment, "sometimes I'm honestly embarrassed by the human race."

"Sometimes?" Knockout questioned with a raised optic ridge. Austin looked back at Tanner who was still cradling his...well, anyways….and at Cody and Ember who were arguing about their current sexualities. He opened his mouth to respond to the Autobot but never got the chance.

"I would like to introduce our newly arrived friends," Optimus spoke up; his voice carrying easily throughout the room and garnering everyone's attention. "They are not extremely new to Earth, but they were just granted permission to join us." Everyone fell silent as the Autobot commander spoke and they followed his hands as he gestured to each unfamiliar bot, "Wheeljack, Mirage, Skidz and Mudflap." The last two names were spoken in a slightly strained voice that Ember did not miss. She glanced at the two identical Autobots in puzzlement, wondering what they had done to cause such a reaction from Optimus.

"Mirage looks pretty cool," Cody whispered to Ember while Optimus continued to speak, outlining the workings of NEST to the new Autobots and advising them on humans. Beachbreak seemed to take more interest in the conversation the humans were having and crouched down in front of them.

Ember snorted and whispered back, "Then why don't you marry him?" She batted her eyes at him with an over dramatized look of happiness. "Can I be your maid of honor? I can find you _the best_ dress you could ever imagine squeezing yourself into!"

Cody narrowed his eyes at her then he smirked. "Nah, babe, Tanner's going to be the maid of honor," he gestured to the man who instantly straitened and glared at the two. Austin covered his mouth, attempting to stifle the laughter that was threatening to explode. Beachbreak was listening interestedly and chuckled at Tanner's reaction.

Knockout tore his gaze away from his leader and down to the humans in annoyance, yet they continued on quietly.

"But I'll tell you what you can do," Cody rested his hands on Embers shoulders and looked her dead in the eye, "You can put on the most innocent dress you can find and skip down the aisle throwing flower petals and when we get to the end you have to say 'Cody, you are the coolest guy in existence and I wish it was me marrying you today and not this totally badass bot'." He patted her shoulders lovingly and asked, "How does that sound?"

Ember's eye twitched, "it sounds like someone slipped you something."

"Let me know when, so I can be there to get a picture," Knockout whispered. He had crouched down next to Beachbreak, abandoning annoyance for entertainment.

"Will do, my man," Cody replied dutifully and saluted.

Knockout shared a confused glance with Beachbreak.

"I'm being conspired against," Ember deadpanned. This was really nothing new, her and Cody normally bantered like this, creating scenarios that would utterly confuse a normal person. It was just that now they included towering alien robots.

"Shhh, it's ok Ember." Cody wrapped his arms around her in a rib cracking hug and patted her back in mock reassurance. After about thirty seconds Cody let out a yelp of pain and stepped back, tripped over a metal crate and fell back onto his head. The racket was enough to draw the Prime's attention which caused everyone to turn in their direction.

"Did you just give him a purple nurple?" Austin moved to pull Cody up, stepping over the scatted objects that had been in the crate. Their boots squeaking against the smooth floor in the sudden silence that Ember had unknowingly brought on was a bit awkward.

"I did," she admitted. She reached forward and pulled the neck of Cody's wife beater down. "It so does not turn purple," she observed with a raised brow.

"It will within the next hour," Cody grumbled and rubbed at his chest.

"Knockout!" The previously snickering mech froze and glanced over his shoulder to find a very annoyed looking Ironhide. "Take Ember to the obstacle course," he instructed, "maybe you can put some of her energy to good use." The grumpy old mech crossed his arms and stared them down even as the rest of the Autobots and humans alike smirked or chuckled.

Knockout vented but obediently fell into his alt mode. Ember flung her arms up in the air and exclaimed "I don't have shoes!" before throwing her leg over the bike and reaching for the handle bars. The three men she had been talking to all watched somewhat triumphantly.

"Not my problem," Ironhide stated in a bored tone. Ember muttered something darkly under her breath just as Knockout rolled forward. "What was that?" Ironhide sounded pissed now.

"_Nothing!_" She shouted over her shoulder. "Jeez, I thought he was supposed to be old," she whispered. Knockout shot out of the hangar as fast as he could, knowing Ironhide had amazing hearing and had probably heard her. He had a strange feeling that whatever Ember did, he would probably be punished for.

Ironhide turned to face Optimus while shaking his head, "Sorry Prime."

"It's alright ol- uh Ironhide," Optimus caught himself, but the damage had been done, Ironhide was glaring at him. "I have a meeting to get to," he said and made his way towards the large hall. The soldier of NEST had never seen the regal bot move so fast to a meeting.

"Even Prime slips up," Ratchet spoke from the corner of the hanger that was cluttered with metal and electronics stock piled by both the medic and humans alike. He scanned the mountain before he picked up what looked like a gutted microwave and scrutinized it .The two old mechs shared a knowing chuckle.

Across the hangar the three men turned to Beachbreak who cocked his head curiously and stared down at them, sensing they wanted to speak to him.

"How come you're never in your alt form Beach?" Austin spoke up questioningly.

"My alt-form is not suitable for land, it is a military jet ski," he explained with a shrug.

"Sweet!" Cody cried, "We should totally have a beach party one day!"

Beachbreak chuckled, the idea seemed like a good one.

…

"This is the ship?" Starscream's voice echoed in the large cybertronian hangar. He was staring at the barely illuminated form of a space vessel, glowing in the darkness.

"Yes," this was a new voice, deep but old at the same time. The mech was hidden in the shadows and Starscream was unable to identify anything about him other than his glowing blue optics. He was tempted to attack, just to expose the traitor that Megatron was working with. He could do it so easily and his servos twitched, but he paused, all would be revealed in due time. "It is called _The Ark_."

…

"I thought I was going to offline," Knockout said gloomily. Ember was sitting on the ground next to the mech turned motorcycle, fighting with a pair of military grade combat boots that she had found left in the women's locker room. They were outside, resting in the shadow of one of the hangars.

"I thought you were the great Knockout, the one mech who could take on twenty Decepticons and not break a sweat," she teased.

"Yeah well, Ironhide could probably take on a hundred on a bad day." He rolled back and forth thoughtfully. Ember paused in her fight and pictured the scene in her mind, deciding it didn't sound all that exaggerated. She shrugged and went back to struggling with the stolen footwear.

"Hmm," she tied one boot before moving on to the other, "So why is everyone so…happy? I mean, the atmosphere is so light here." She struggled to find the right words to describe the airy mood everyone had adopted lately. She reached for a jacket lying on the ground next to her and pulled it on over her shirt. She had also acquired a pair of pants.

The motorcycle shifted in a strange shrug, "I heard we caught sight of a possible Decepticon."

"And that's a good thing?" She questioned sarcastically. With the other boot finally tied, she stood and brushed some dirt off of her jeans and admired her work.

"When it comes to Cons, activity is better than no activity," he answered darkly. Ember remained still, standing under the shade of the building, and thought about the heaviness of those words. These beings had been at war for so long that a sign of the enemy was a good thing. They knew the Decepticons so well. If there is silence, then something's going on that they're not aware of, and they _need_ to be aware; lives, both human and Autobot, were involved.

"Wow, way to put a damper on my day," she huffed and climbed back onto the bike.

"Sorry '_Babe_' but that's the truth." He chuckled when Ember smacked him between the handle bars; the use of Cody's nickname obviously striking a cord with her.

The obstacle course wasn't what one would think; tires, wooden walls, mud pits and barbed wire. No, this obstacle course was built for the Autobots. It was a mile long track with walls built around it forming a large oval right in the middle of the island. A person could stand in the center and observe them as they drove around, dodging fake buildings, falling debris, and explosions. Of course there were different levels for them to try; otherwise Ironhide wouldn't have even dreamt about sending a human in on the back of one of the most hotheaded bots in existence.

They rolled in through the front entrance and stopped at the starting line. Just like the rest of the buildings on the island, the floor was smoothed concrete. There was one room off to the side which was accessible to both humans and crybertronians. A window from this room looked out over the starting line and Ember could see a surprisingly familiar face peeking out over some computers. Taylor seemed to be concentrating on something important on the controls in front of her; she pushed her glasses up in irritation.

"Taylor!" Ember called up to the window.

The girl looked up and paused, then an excited grin took over her face and she reached for the microphone. "Hey Ember!" She winced at the feedback that rang out through the room from the speakers. "What are you doing here?" she asked quizzically.

"I'm training," she said with a shrug and a roll of her eyes.

"Oh…"she trailed off and Ember could see the confusion on the girls face through the glass. "But this is for the Autobots."

"What do you think I'm sitting on?" she asked dryly. She placed her hands on her hips just as Knockout revved his engine.

"Sorry!" Taylor smacked herself in the forehead just as the hottie she had been spotted with frequently appeared behind her and reached for the microphone.

"What level, Ember?" he asked with a friendly smirk.

"Let's start with one, Mr.…?" She reached forward and placed her hands on the handlebars once again.

"Kent," he provided.

Ember gave him a quick thumbs up before turning to face the track. The two humans went about setting up the track for them, hurriedly moving about the control room.

"Not so fast," Knockout said, "you need a helmet."

"Where am I supposed to get a helmet?" she exclaimed. She dropped her hands into her lap in annoyance.

"I have one; just get off of me first." He tried to cover his amused snickering with his transformation after Ember had slid off, but he failed and got a kick in the shin for it.

"Jerk." She stood back while he reached for his hip and pulled a black helmet from thin air. He crouched down on one knee and handed it to her. "How do you guys do that?" She asked while she pulled the helmet onto her head securely.

"What?" He looked through the visor innocently before smirking and tapping the top of the protection device with a claw playfully. "I have a subspace pocket. Lets me keep a hold of stuff in battle," he answered knowledgably.

"Well, aint that just nifty," she replied. Her voice was muffled by the helmet, but she couldn't deny how cool she felt by wearing it.

Knockout rolled his optics and shifted back into his alt mode. Ember climbed back on with a hidden smirk, touched by Knockout's concern for her safety. Taylor gave them a thumbs up just as the traffic light in front of them turned green.

Knockout shot forward, engine roaring, and sped out of site of the two humans within seconds. Up until this point, Ember had been wondering how the heck she was meant to participate, that is until Knockout drove right over a section of the track that was lit up with green lights. The second his front tire touched the light he lost all control and nearly spun out.

"Whoa!" Ember had been letting her hands rest against the bars for nothing but support, now, however, she took control of the bike and steered him back into the center of the track.

"That's new." Knockout's voice issued from her helmet. Obviously, this wasn't a standard helmet someone could pick up from the store. She wondered briefly who had made it.

"You have no control?" she asked nervously, dreading the idea of being on her own on an obstacle course that obviously had some pretty devious tricks.

"Zero," he responded. "Guess it's your turn kiddo."

Ember glanced down at her hands then back at the track just as a turn came into view. Fear blossomed inside of her and she began to panic. The thought _'I don't know how to drive a motorcycle,'_ ran through her head, wiping out all other concerns in its path. _'It can't be that hard,'_ she experimentally twisted the handle, earning her more speed. Her panic dwindled by a fraction.

Knockout, sensing her stress, "Just stay on the inside of the turns and lean into them." His voice was calm and reassuring, giving her the small boost of confidence she needed.

She leaned into the turn and was amazed at how close the inner railing that separated the track from the observation deck was. It was just one of those moments that seemed to last an eternity. She was almost tempted to reach out and touch it. And just like that it was over, the turn behind them and a long stretch ahead.

"Not bad," Knockout drawled, "I was getting a little nervous there."

Ember tightened her grip even more; knowing that there was still another turn before they hit the light again, which she guessed would give him back control. "No sweat," she replied breathlessly. Knockout remained silent when they turned again. When he passed over the green strip of track, he took over silently.

Of course, the second Ember no longer had control a section of the ground ahead of them literally fell away, forcing Knockout to speed up and go airborne while Ember held on for dear life. His tires hit the other side with a squeal and he fishtailed before pulling away, leaving black marks and a small cloud of smoke behind.

After that, sections continued to drop out from under them or shoot up to block their path. Eventually Knockout stopped talking, finding it hard to concentrate on the track and Ember at the same time while keeping a running commentary going. Every lap brought on new challenges, more dangerous, and harder to avoid.

"How the pit do I get through this?" Knockout had exclaimed when they caught sight of a deep trench cutting across the track. On one side was a ramp and on the other a cement wall with two holes in it, one stacked on top of the other. Neither was large enough for them to _both_ fit through.

"That's just wrong," Ember scoffed.

"Should I stop?" knockout asked, unsure for the first time.

"No, I can do it, just tell me when to jump," she squeezed the handles and narrowed her eyes in determination. She didn't want to be useless. She hated being useless. With adrenaline pumping through her veins, she felt like she was capable of anything.

Time seemed to slow as Knockout sped up the ramp and launched himself into the air heading straight for the wall. "Go!" He ordered and Ember placed her hands on the seat, brought her legs up and pushed herself off. She dove through the wall, felt it rushing past her, and flew out onto the other side. Below her Knockout had transformed the moment he pulled through, and reached out to catch her.

The next second was a blur of color, the sound scraping metal, sparks, and the dizzying effects of crashing to the ground. When all was finally silent one more Ember opened one eye hesitantly, seeing no blood or fire she sat up in Knockout's outstretched hands and looked over to his face, which was wearing one of the biggest grins she had ever seen on metal.

"That was fragging amazing!" he exclaimed. Ember flopped back into his hands with a sigh.

…

When they finally pulled to a stop in front of the control room, Ember practically melted off the bike and stood on shaking legs. She yanked her helmet off and tucked it under one arm while the other was raised in a fist. "What. ..Thinking?" she screamed; and when Ember screams she screams like her life depends on it.

Taylor looked down with a stunned expression, and then her finger came up and she pointed at Kent who was already pointing at her. Clearly, they were confused as to whom they should put the blame on.

"I could have died! Been smashed up against a wall, or fell into that hole, or fallen and broken my neck!" she ranted.

Taylor reached for the microphone and spoke into it tentatively, "The pits lead to the floor below, it's cushioned." She fiddled with her fingers, not wanting to meet Ember's eyes even through two inches of glass.

Embers eyebrow twitched, "It's cushioned?" She turned to Knockout who had transformed and was standing behind her with his arms crossed. "Well, I guess that just solves ALL of our problems, doesn't it?"

"You didn't even warn us about the control switch," Knockout added, tearing his optics away from Ember and glaring up at the two humans.

"Don't blame us, Ironhide told us too," Taylor whined childishly. She pointed behind her and the two could only assume that the mech was in the large room with them. As an afterthought she added, "We got some really awesome footage of it though."

Knockout seemed to take a liking to that, in fact, the stern look he had been wearing disappeared all together. "Really?" he questioned excitedly.

Ember, on the other hand, was still angry. "Well you can tell Ironhide to kiss my ass!"

"It's an obstacle course, meaning it's filled with obstacles femme," Ironhide's voice came out through the speakers, gruff as usual.

"Yeah, well that was kind of life threatening!" Ember growled, she stomped her foot to emphasize.

"Your _job _is life threatening," the old mech shot back in ire. Ember could hear him moving about the control room, probably pacing in annoyance.

"Your _face_ is lifethreatening," she muttered darkly while crossing her arms. Knockout smacked himself in the forehead with metallic clang, _'of course she would'_ he thought with a vent.

"What was that?" Ironhide practically roared. In the window, the two humans winced and hunched their shoulders at the shout. The glass even shook.

"YOUR FACE!" She screamed. "Did you hear me that time you old hunk of metal, or do I need to say it louder?"

Knockout didn't wait for the mech to reply, he scooped Ember up into his hands and ran. From behind them they heard Ironhide rush through the control room doors and pound after them. "Primus you stupid femme, we're in for it now!" Knockout grunted as he literally sprinted over people to get away from the rage behind them.

"Just shut up and run!" She glanced over his shoulder and balked at the sight of the hurtling mech that was practically on top of them. They passed the Autobot hangar, drawing several curious and surprised stares. "Can't you go any faster?" she screeched. As if answering her, Sideswipe appeared next to them, skating across the concrete and grass, wanting to join in on the fun.

"Catch!" Knockout threw the girl to the silver mech before splitting away from them and running for the beach. Sides lifted her to his shoulder and sped forward, pulling away from the behemoth that was crashing after them.

"What in the pit did you say?" Sides asked with a laugh. He slid around a corner and barely avoided a random soldier who dropped to the ground instinctively and covered his head. _'Heart of a lion that one,'_ she mentally quoted as they passed.

"Insulted his face and called him old," Ember answered wryly. She was holding on to the speeding mech as best she could.

"Damn," he looked over his shoulder and leaned forward, putting on more speed. "We need to find the Hatchet." The medic was the only one who could out rage Ironhide, of that Sideswipe was certain.

"Get back here punk!" Ironhide shouted after them.

"He really sounds like a crotchety old man," Ember observed somewhat out of breath.

"You have no idea," Sideswipe agreed with a chuckle.

All around them, people stopped what they were doing in order to watch the strange spectacle. It wasn't all together unusual to see Sides racing around, but with an enraged Ironhide following after him? That was new. Well, to them it was new anyways. The Autobot's just figured Sides was up to his usual old tricks.

Sideswipe skidded onto the tarmac, glanced around quickly, and spotted both Optimus and Ratchet watching a bunch of humans loading a cargo plane with primus knew what. They were speaking to each other casually if their lazy hand gestures were anything to go by. However, their conversation was broken when his tires squealed over the concrete and Ironhide snarled behind them.

"Help!" He cried. The two mechs turned to face the oncoming wrath in confusions and weariness.

Just as he drew close, Sideswipe tripped over a crate and fell to the ground with a horrendous crash, sending Ember flying through the air with a scream. Luckily, she was flying strait towards Prime, who simply held up his palms and caught her as easily as one would catch a raindrop.

Ratchet quirked an optic ridge and pulled a wrench from subspace and chucked it at the charging mech with a practiced ease. Ironhide was hit smack dab between the optics, distracted; he tripped over the prone Sideswipe and fell to the ground next to him. The two groaned.

"Hey…Tim…what's up?" Ember greeted nervously. Her eyes flickered back and fourth, indicating she was still dizzy from her recent flying lesson.

"You apparently," he replied with only slight amusement.

"What's going on here?" Lennox questioned sternly from the ground, his fists on his hips.

"That brats got an attitude, that's what's going on," Ironhide grunted as he pulled himself to his feet, panting. He stepped towards the Prime and pointed an accusing finger at the human he held in his hands, "You're lucky Sides here is smart enough to get you to one of the bigger bots or-."

"Ember, what exactly did you do?" Lennox asked a bit amazed that a human could get Ironhide so worked up in a rage. Ratchet bent down and picked up the human so he could see the disheveled woman.

"Let's see, I told him to kiss my ass, insulted his face, and then called him an old heap of metal," Ember listed off in a playful tone. She must have hit her head somewhere between Sideswipes shoulder and Optimus' palms.

Ratchet laughed, earning him a glare from the weapons specialist. "Watch it mech, you're just as old as I am."

"Ember," Optimus sounded surprised and a bit disappointed.

"He almost killed me though! Look, I'm still shaking!" She held up her hand but it was unnecessary since they could all see her entire body quivering. It was really just the affects of adrenaline, but ratchet was really the only one aware of this affect.

"Ironhide," Optimus, again, sounded surprised and disappointed.

"What? It was just a little fun on the obstacle course; I knew they could do it." Ironhide crossed his arms and looked away.

Sideswipe sat up and rubbed at his helm, "that was a blast!" his comment went unnoticed by all except for the humans around him who chuckled before getting back to work.

"You could have warned us. And another thing, I've never driven a motorcycle before!" She leaned over Optimus' fingers, gripping on to them to keep her balance. She slid back into his palms when a dizzy spell overcame her, unknowingly mimicking Sideswipes pose, she rubbed at her head.

"That still doesn't warrant you to speak in such a way to a higher officer," Lennox pointed out. Ember groaned and closed her eyes, not wanting to hear the next words. "I think sticking you on cleaning duty for the next two weeks should straiten you out," he scratched at his chin absently while he stared down at Ember in thought. "And you have to apologize to Ironhide of course," he added.

She sighed and sat up in the Prime's hand and looked at the mech who was determined to _not_ look at her, and in the most sincerest voice she could muster said, "I'm sorry for being a bitch."

Ironhide snorted but turned to face her with a raised optic ridge. "That sounded painful," he remarked.

"It was," Ember admitted in her sincere voice. Lennox cracked a smirk. She sighed again and flopped back into Optimus' still open hands. "Yay, cleaning," she mumbled sarcastically.

"What was that?" Ironhide asked.

"I SAID-," she paused and shook her finger at Ironhide, "Oh no, I know what you're trying to do!" She pointed a finger at him accusingly, "you sneaky jerk."

Ironhide laughed and turned away to help Sideswipe up. Once the young mech was standing again she turned to look up at Optimus who was still watching her with a peculiar look on his face.

"What?" she asked curiously.

"Oh, just wondering if it should be three weeks instead," he explained, "one for each insult." At the look of horror that came over the girls face, Optimus let out a chuckle of his own. Ember placed a hand over her frantic heart dramatically.

"Don't do that Tim, you nearly gave me a heart attack," she said breathlessly. Cleaning for a day was a nightmare to her, let alone two whole weeks.

"He did not," Ratchet countered. He ran a scan over the woman just in case. The humans and their phrases and sayings were beginning to annoy him. Every other second it seemed something was threatening their life, be it embarrassment or a Decepticon.

"It's an exaggeration," she replied in a deadpanned tone. She shifted in the large metal hands and looked back up at the Prime, squinting against the sun. "So where are you guys going? It looks like your packing enough stuff for a lifetime." She gazed down at the men who were getting back to their jobs at hand (pun intended).

"To South Africa, we believe Starscream was spotted flying over head and we have reports of a dam being attacked," Optimus enlightened the girl without a thought while Lennox stood there gawking up at him. Ember wasn't really on the need to know list yet, they couldn't just spout random details to her. Lennox sighed, figuring if Optimus trusted her then he really had no choice in the matter anyways.

"Oh, are you all going?" She asked for Knockout, knowing that he had been practically dying to go on a mission since he had arrived on Earth. She felt she owed it to him since his quick thinking had saved her from becoming a smear on the floor. She shuddered, causing Optimus to tilt his head questioningly before responding.

"No, Just Ratchet, Ironhide, Beackbreak, Salvage, and I," he listed of the accompanying mechs casually.

"Salvage?" Ember didn't remember meeting him, but now that she thought about it, she had heard his name before.

"You'll meet him some day, but I think you have some cleaning to get to first," Optimus teased while lowering her to the ground. She slid off his palm and landed on the tarmac with a soft tap of her boots. She looked down at them guiltily, she had stolen those and she really didn't feel like getting punished any further so she bit her lip and quickly made to leave.

"Don't forget to work on stamina, Brat," Ironhide threw over his shoulder at her.

"Sure thing!" she stated a bit too cheerily before turning away and hunching her shoulders. She walked quickly across the airfield and was soon joined by a black and red motorcycle with a helmet perched precariously on its seat. She pulled the helmet on and climbed onto the bike tiredly. "Sorry Knockout, no mission yet," she patted the bars comfortingly.

"It's ok, if the cons are starting to play, then they must have something planned," he replied through the speakers in her helmet. The oddness of the statement did not go unnoticed by her, but then she remembered, activity was better than silence.

…

"They get along very well," Optimus observed. "It was quite a coincidence that they are both training under you." He placed a servo over Ironhide's shoulder in an appreciative gesture.

"Coincidence my aft," Ironhide rumbled. "You should have seen them on the course. How did you figure they would work well together Ratchet?" He turned to the medic, who was still watching the pair as they left.

"Personality… and a hunch," he answered truthfully.

Ironhide laughed.

**A/N: This chapter was really light, the next one won't be, I'm sad to say. Anyways, review? I wanna know who all your favorite bots and cons are so I can try and work them in :D**

"So you have to clean _everything_ for two weeks?"

"Yes, I do, can we not talk about this?" Ember ground out through grit teeth. She held her fork over a plate of mashed potatoes with effort; the idea of flinging it across the table at Shelby all too appealing at the moment.

"Sure," Shelby complied all too quickly and turned to Taylor who was working on building a mashed potato volcano. "So, do _you_ have to clean everything for two weeks?" Taylor looked up blankly before shaking her head and going back to her creation. Ember groaned and dropped her head onto the table.


	13. Where'd you go?

**A/N: Yay, another chapter, this one is a bit shorter but I felt I had to stop it when I did. So this one has some sadness in it and I had to listen to sad music to get the mood right. So if you feel lost, it's just because I'm following the events of the book but from Embers POV. **

**R and R**

Ember's POV

Ok, I _know _you can get high off of cleaning chemicals, but does it really have any lasting effects? Because I might bring it up with Lennox the next time I see him.

I'm literally sitting on the floor scrubbing at tiles with a toothbrush; I thought they only did this in movies! But it does do a really good job of cleaning the grout…Ugh, listen to me, I'm losing what little of my sanity I have left.

I can't tell you how many people have walked by me, snickering or giving me looks of pity, while I scrub away at every surface I can reach. I've been running around all day in my bare feet wearing an old raggedy t-shirt and a pair of shorts that barely stay up, attacking my chores with a ferocity that I _hoped_ would help me finish quickly. So far, it didn't seem to be making a difference.

There was an upside to it though, cleaning was tough, and it was helping me work on my stamina. And balance. I think I slipped and fell about three times when I was mopping the halls and bathrooms early this morning. It was kind of fun, slipping and sliding around while I blasted my Ipod in my ears, even though I most certainly looked like a dumbass while doing it. Needless to say, I have nothing but respect for my mom now; I can't even imagine what it was like running after three children with a wash rag in one hand and a vacuum in the other. It took being chased by an evil alien robot and practically being abducted by a secret military organization for me to really appreciate my mother… the world is so effed up.

The downside? I didn't get to see _any_ of my friends, human or Autobot. I really wished Shelby and Taylor could help me, they're good at cleaning, and they would have kept me entertained by acting like the idiots they were.

…

Normal POV

"You missed a spot."

Ember paused, battling with the anger she felt struggling to come out. She looked down at the toothbrush in her hand before turning her head to gaze over her shoulder at a strikingly blue mech crouched down behind her, watching her clean. She was a bit creeped out, wondering how long he had been there.

"Where?" She asked with a sigh. If he had been a human, she would have probably chewed him out and scared him off, but she learned that the majority of the Autobots were generally just helpful and so she found herself unable to be pissed off by them…except for Ironhide…and Knockout…and Sides…She dropped her head, realizing that her thinking was totally contradicting. She blamed the Clorox.

"There, to your right," he directed.

Ember glanced down at the floor, spotting the offending area and promptly sprayed it with cleaner. She scrubbed at it for a few seconds before she was satisfied and then moved on, crawling across the floor while pushing strands of hair out of her face. She had put it up so it wouldn't _be_ in her face, but it was pointless, her hair was too layered to all stay back neatly. She scrubbed at a new spot tiredly, _'Why is this section of the hall tiled anyways?' _she questioned silently.

"How long have you been cleaning?" Wheeljack, Ember remembered his name was Wheeljack. She hadn't realized he was still watching her, figuring he would have left after pointing out her mistake.

"Um…" she sat back on her legs and thought back to the morning. "Since about six I think, why, what time is it?"

"Three o'clock pm." He answered dutifully. She half expected him to reply in military time, which really wouldn't be that unusual since they were on a military base. She stared at the panels on the side of his head absentmindedly; they flashed different colors when he spoke.

Ember looked at him blankly until comprehension dawned and she took on an expression that was a cross between annoyance and longing. "What the fudge? I missed lunch," she huffed and dropped the toothbrush, pushing herself up off the floor.

"Fudge?" Wheeljack questioned. He pulled his head back and cocked it curiously, drawing Ember's attention away from her knees, which were red and raw.

"You guys are so animated when you move," she observed. "But then I guess you have to be, not all of you have faces that are as expressive and body language is probably the only thing you can rely on…" she pondered out loud. Wheeljack remained silent and Ember winced, "Sorry that was rude."

Wheeljack tilted his head in a shrug, letting her know that he took no offence; it was only natural for humans to be curious about their behaviors.

"Well, I'm going to go see if I can beg the cook for food…" she trailed off, waiting for Wheeljack to reply, when he remained silent she awkwardly waved goodbye. "I'll see you around then…" She padded down the hall, feeling the mechs gaze following her until she turned a corner. It was weird seeing him so calm and detached as opposed to how he had been acting just the other day. She shot a strange look over her shoulder before turning forward and making her way to the kitchens.

The cook was a nice guy who Ember was certain was gay, in her opinion that just made him ten times better. His food was amazing, and she made sure to tell him that several times while she pleaded for some leftovers. It was one of those moments that Cody would probably wish he had caught on tape, seeing her lathering on complements so thick that the cook couldn't concentrate. He eventually gave her a sandwich and a fruit salad before kicking her out and sending her on her way.

Ember found herself sitting in the Rec. Room watching TV on her couch (she had claimed it) eating her late lunch when Knockout came racing in with a tow truck that was Longarm following behind. Knockout transformed and pulled himself up onto the observation deck and flopped to the ground next to Ember's couch.

"Where've you been all day?" he asked happily. He seemed to be in a good mood and Ember could only assume it was something that Longarm had said. The older mech had transformed and was standing on ground level, being slightly too large to move about the second floor comfortably.

"I've been cleaning," she deadpanned. Knockout only smirked when she showed him her wrinkly fingers and sore knees. He had easily escaped Ironhide's wrath the day before, and was taking great delight in rubbing it in her face. "Nine hours strait, and I still have more to do," she informed him with a sigh and leaned back into the couch, enjoying the small break.

"So why don't you do the rest tomorrow?" he proposed. His optics slid over to Longarm, whom he knew was a stickler for the rules. The mech seemed to be taking pity on the small human though, because he turned and left the Rec. room, determined not to hear anything. He glanced back once, giving Knockout a sly wink.

"I can't, I have to get it done today," Ember groaned. Despite her protests, however, she placed her feet up on the coffee table in front of her.

"Come on, Lennox isn't even here, he's away on that mission," he reasoned. Ember pulled her eyes away from the TV and stared at him blankly, turning over the idea in her head. "You know you want to," he drawled.

"Ok," she relented and pulled her feet back onto the couch so she could lie down. Watching TV sounded like a good idea to her, and she was glad when Knockout stayed to watch with her, even though his constant questions grew annoying after a while.

"So Wheeljack was watching me earlier," Ember stated after an hour of watching cartoons.

"Why?" Knockout asked distractedly. He was enjoying the show, but that might have just been because there were giant robots in it. But the fact that they were piloted by humans made them a little less impressive. But they did seem to have a mind of their own, ripping apart monsters and such, this show was for younglings? In between all his different thoughts, Embers comment went almost unnoticed.

"I don't know, it was kind of creepy though, he didn't really say much," she admitted. She too was concentrating on the show but still attempting to hold a conversation.

"That's just Wheeljack, he was probably studying the human anatomy, or making something in his head" Knockout replied with a human shrug. Ember noticed he was picking up more of their habits; he didn't even talk the same as he had when she first met him a month ago.

"Creeper," she promptly labeled the blue mech. Knockout snorted and bit back on a laugh that threatened to escape.

…

With nothing else to really do now that she had finished (postponed) her chores. Ember decided it was time to go down and check out the lagoon she had heard so much about from Austin and Tanner. She hadn't gone swimming in years, she realized. _'Can you forget how to swim? Or is it like riding a bike?'_ her mind was on autopilot while she dug through her suitcase looking for her bathing suit. When she had finally found it she pulled it on quickly and threw on a pair of shorts over it, grabbed a towel, and rushed out her door happily.

She navigated her way through the halls with a skill that came from great practice and stopped in front of an average door. She didn't bother knocking; instead, she threw the door open and barged in. "Bathing suits. Beach. Now! Let's move it hoes!" Shelby and Taylor were flipping through hundreds of files spread out on the floor around them and they jumped when Ember burst in.

"Woot!" Shelby abandoned the paper work and sprung for her dresser without a second thought, throwing the contents all over the place in search for her swimwear.

"I guess I'll go change," Taylor stood and followed Ember out of the room.

"I'll see you down there, ok?" Ember waved goodbye before running down the halls excitedly. They hadn't had a beach day since high school back in their old town in Florida. There would be certain parts missing, like the drum circle and the barbecue, but that didn't matter. She dodged surprised scientists in lab coats and soldiers on her way to a door that she knew led to the outside.

She shut the squeaky metal door behind her and glanced around, trying to gain her bearings. Once she was sure of her direction she continued at the same speed over concrete and grass towards the Autobot hangar. She slowed to a stop at the opened hangar door and peered in. Even though a handful of the Autobots were on a mission, there were still a number of them on base and the majority were gathered in the hangar doing their own thing. Ember's eyes roamed over the tall forms and stopped on Knockout, who was talking to Mirage.

"Knockout," she called. He turned and waved, a bit curious as to what she was doing outside when it was supposedly dinner time for the humans. Then he noticed what she was wearing and he quirked a ridge in question. He was no human, but he was aware of how the males eyes tended to follow females who were exposing a certain amount of skin. "We're going to the beach, wanna come?" she asked. Knockout turned his optics to Mirage, who only shrugged, before moving towards the human femme.

"You aint going anywhere without me," Sideswipe spoke up from across the hangar. He skated over to Ember, reaching her before Knockout could.

Their small little band of beach goers all met up just as the sun was beginning to set. The girls laid down towels on the white sand before jumping up to make a campfire. Sideswipe stood just out of reach of the water and grimaced.

"That would not do my paint any good," he scooted back and found a sizable rock to sit on. The sand would just get stuck between his gears and scratch his paint. At least he wasn't as bad as his brother who wouldn't even bother with sitting down to avoid damaging his costume job. He stared at the water idly while reminiscing, wondering what his brother would think of the organic planet. _'He'd probably think it was too dirty,'_ he thought with a chuckle.

"One of you guys light this wood," Ember ordered somewhat distractedly to the two bots. She placed her hands on her hips and dragged one foot through the sand absently while Knockout moved over to the small pile of sticks the girls had accumulated. He crouched down and activated a canon on his arm; as it formed he reached for a side panel and worked it off gently, revealing the insides of the mechanism. The girls were suddenly illuminated by a pink light that leaked out from the weapon; the inside was a mess of spinning gears and energon that humans couldn't even begin to understand. He lowered the weapon until it was hovering just over the wood, his claw twitched and the canon sparked, throwing embers into the fire that quickly grew into a roaring flame.

"Convenient," Ember threw a couple more sticks into the hungry fire before turning to face the water. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm going in before the sun's gone." She kicked off her shorts and stretched, giving her two friends time to do the same.

Sideswipe played music for them while they swam about in the water, splashing at each other and jumping over waves. It was like they were kids again, except, in between the bouts of laughter and squeals, they talked and gossiped. Ember remembered when she had been little and never understood why her parents talked so much with their friends; it seemed like such a waste of time when they could be playing instead. She _still_ didn't understand.

"Remember when you were little and used to play pretend?" she asked the other two girls. They were pretty far out in the water. On the shore the two Autobots were watching them while talking.

"I miss those days," Shelby admitted. "But those were also the days when I thought boys had cooties." She rubbed at her eyes, clearing them of salt water.

"Pfft, I had a boy friend in second grade," Ember waved her off playfully.

"Slut," Taylor exclaimed.

"Oh!" Ember perked up with a snicker, "I tried telling Beachbreak a joke the other day."

"What brought this up?" Shelby asked.

"Taylor's the one who told me it a long time ago so I saw her and remembered, plus it was the one about how to drown a blonde," she explained with a shrug.

"Oh yeah!" Taylor laughed, "How'd he react?"

"He freaked at first until I told him it was a joke," she replied thoughtfully, "And then he said he didn't get it and had me explain the whole blondes being dumb thing. And then he had the nerve to tell me that I was a natural blonde and I was calling myself stupid. That's when he laughed."

Shelby and Taylor were silent for a handful of seconds before the laughter spilled out of them.

When they finally swam back to shallow waters, Ember stood up in the thigh deep water and turned back to look at Taylor, who had stepped on a seashell and was examining her foot carefully.

"Watch out!" Shelby warned.

Ember turned just in time to be tackled into the water by a still fully clothed Cody. His arms wrapped around her shoulders and dragged her down under the water with him. There was a brief moment of panic, the kind a person always gets when they're shoved into the water, before Cody stood and pulled her up with him. She sputtered and pushed Cody away, causing him to trip and fall back under again.

"You douche," she snarled while brushing sopping wet hair out of her face and glaring down at the somewhat pitiful form of Cody. She didn't pity him one bit however, because of the shit eating grin he was wearing.

From the beach Knockout watched warily. Ember was fast becoming a good friend to him and he wouldn't allow for her to be injured.

Cody pushed himself up and followed the girls to the fire, pulling off his boots and camo pants to dry by the fire. Taylor giggled at his batman boxers.

They sat around the fire for about an hour, the sun long since set, and the Autobot's sitting close behind them. It was probably the first time in a month they had gotten to talk for more than a few minutes at a time. Everyone was so busy anymore.

"What do you guys miss?" Taylor asked randomly. She was lying back on a towel fiddling with a stick.

"You mean like from home?" Shelby questioned. When Taylor nodded she hummed and drew a smiley face in the sand, deep in thought.

"Popcorn!" Ember cried. She missed being able to sit around doing nothing on a weekend but watch movies and eat popcorn. She wiggled into a sitting position and leaned back against Knockout's knee, he was seated just behind her with his legs crossed.

"Walking around in pajamas all day," Shelby answered.

"The parties," Cody drawled coyly and winked.

"I miss my dog," Taylor stated. All humans present looked at her peculiarly.

"Taylor, your dog died five years ago," Shelby pointed out, a bit of concern evident in her voice. She shaded her eyes to look across the fire at Taylor who only shrugged.

"I didn't say our home specifically," she mumbled.

They all fell silent at that. They roamed their minds for memories and things they missed dearly, each reminiscing about the past, even Sides and Knockout. Ember hummed and stared up at the sky thoughtfully, her head leaning back against knockout. She missed her family for sure, all of her friends, and the little things about life that you just couldn't get in a military life; like Saturday morning cartoons. But since she had joined NEST, she wasn't stressed by bills, school, or work and she kind of liked the person she was becoming for a change.

"You know, I remember the first time we ever went to Cody's house," Ember spoke up after a moment of silence. "Right after we graduated and that big ass dog you had tackled me into the dinner table and knocked over that huge bowl of punch your mom had made for the holiday party," she snickered.

"Oh yeah, and I had to give you clothes and you ended up looking all emo gangster because all my clothes were baggy on you," Cody added in with a laugh.

"And I ended up helping your mom clean it up!" Shelby shouted in mock anger.

Taylor was rolling around on her towel in a fit of laughter at the memory, unable to speak.

"I think those are the kinds of things I miss most," Ember finished quietly.

Knockout and Sideswipe shared a curious glance.

"_**They are so young, but already it feels like our war is making them suffer,"**_ Sideswipe sent to the red and black mech. His shoulders slumped fractionally.

Knockout turned his optics down to the humans and listened carefully before replying. _**"No Sides, this is a part of growing up for them. Our war may be the reason they had to leave their civilian lives behind, but missing the past is a part of human nature. It was a simpler time for them; it's only natural for them to want to go back."**_ It was a truthful but depressing answer, and both bots were left feeling a little down. But then, of course, they started to pay attention to what the humans were saying and couldn't help but laugh.

"I _will_ be remembered!" Cody was shouting with one hand raised dramatically. The fact that he was in his boxers kind of ruined the affect though. But still he stood proud. "I don't care if I have to streak all the way across the country, your children's children are going to know my name!"

"Riiight," Ember drawled, "I don't know how your mother put up with you for eighteen years."

"Cody has the best family; it's huge, crazy, and they love everybody. Of course his mom would be able to put up with him," Taylor pointed out from across the fire.

"I remember on his 21st birthday his mom showed us all his baby videos," Shelby threw a twig at the obviously embarrassed Cody. "You had the cutest baby butt."

…

The darkness of space surrounded him on all sides, but from ahead, a blue planet glowed with life. It illuminated the form of Megatron, he was scanning the orb fiercely, having sensed an energy he had long since forgotten the feel of; The Allspark. But to a passerby who was not learned in the ways of the Cybertronians, it would seem like he was hanging there and waiting, like a predator ready to strike.

He leered at the planet, fangs bared, knowing that it was crawling with organic life; beings too far below them for their existence to even be considered.

But something wasn't right.

His readings were coming back broken and scattered at best. His eyes traveled to the great white cap at the top of planet suspiciously. Ice was dangerous to them. It may improve processing speed and accuracy, but all mobility is lost when a mech is incased in it completely. He would have to wait for Starsream's return and send the annoying seeker to the planet instead.

But the energy was pulling at him, almost yearning for him to approach. It could not be ignored, he decided.

…

"They're back," Sideswipe spoke up suddenly.

Both humans and Autobot turned to look at him questioningly. Suddenly, Knockout's optics brightened and he looked to the sky just as a plane flew by overhead, awe inspiringly low and fast.

Optimus and the rest had finally come home from their mission.

The group jumped to their feet, kicking up sand as they did, and rushed to gather their things. Ember pulled her shorts on over her bathing suit just as Knockout transformers and revved his engine excitedly. She climbed onto his seat and turned her head just in time to see her friends all climb into Sideswipe.

"What about the fire?" she queried.

Knockout's tires spun, throwing sand over the camp fire, efficiently putting it out. He revved his engine again and shot forward, speeding over the sand, his alien tires finding traction easily. Sideswipe followed as closely as he dared without getting sand and shells pelted at him.

They sped down the road, heedless of anything other than their destination and the passengers they carried. The pulled onto the tarmac a minute later, just a few seconds after the plane had landed. People were waiting just in front of the loading ramp, waiting for the NEST team to exit, while other rushed to and fro excitedly following their orders.

Ember jumped off of Knockout, allowing him to transform and stand.

First, a small group of soldiers stepped down onto the ground, and then the more familiar figures of Lennox and Epps, followed by two scientists (an Asian woman and a Russian man) before the first Autobot rolled off. Ironhide pulled away from the plane towards Knockout, behind him was Salvage as a red pickup truck.

Sideswipe transformed after his inside had been emptied of all organics and stood next to Knockout patiently. Ember stepped back when the two trucks stood up as well, not wanting to be accidentally stepped on. She moved back and joined her friends silently.

Optimus pulled out of the plane and transformed once he was safely out from under it, but he reached a hand under and offered it to Ratchet, who had slid out of the plane already in bipedal form. The medic took the offered hand and pulled himself up onto his feet with a squeal of protesting metal and a shower of energon leaking from his back.

"What happened to Ratchet?" Sideswipe questioned worriedly. He rolled forward towards the group.

"Payload," Ironhide growled back in response. His canons shifted and twirled, displaying his amount of agitation.

Sideswipe narrowed his optics and took on a surprisingly deadly look that Ember had never seen before. His posture became ramrod straight and his hands clenched into fists.

Knockout stepped forward now with a quizzical look on his face, "Where's Beachbreak?" He sounded mildly curious, but Ember could hear the concern in his voice. Neither of the two would say anything, instead they looked away. "Salvage, where's Beachbreak?" He asked again, more forcibly, his concern growing to worry. Salvage met Knockout's optics helplessly, unable to answer.

"I'm sorry Knockout, but Beachbreak will not be coming back to us," Optimus approached wearily with sorrow lacing his words. He stopped in front of the smaller mech and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Knockout was silent, staring up at his commander blankly. Next to him, Sideswipe let out a feral growl.

"Them cons are gonna pay," the words were dark and deadly. Ember was looking at Sides in a whole new light, realizing for the first time that the happy go lucky mech was a hardened front liner. His words grew less proper as his anger burned.

"Where's his body?" knockout asked disbelievingly.

"It was lost over a fall,-" Optimus attempted to explain, but he was cut short by an enraged Knockout.

"That's slag Prime, and you know it! Why didn't you bring him back? I thought you bots were supposed to be good at that stuff. You attacked an entire platoon of Decepticons just to get to her body but you can't try for Beachbreak." Knockout was shouting, drawing all of the human's attention.

Optimus optics widened before narrowing dangerously, his hand on Knockout's shoulder, originally placed there to show support, now gripped him with painful force. It was fast, too fast for human eyes to follow, but the Prime's battle mask slid into place and Knockout was shoved to the ground harshly. The resulting crash was loud, the sound of metal scraping against concrete harsh to the human ear.

The majority of the people gathered stood in stunned silence, unable to comprehend what had just happened. Cody reached forward and pulled Ember back behind him where Taylor and Shelby were already standing. She was virtually unresponsive to his actions, following his lead blindly while keeping her eyes locked on to the growing dispute in front of her.

"He doesn't know any better Prime, he's still a youngling," Ironhide defended. He moved in front of the fuming Autobot and placed a hand against his chest, a sign to back down.

Knockout snarled and attempted to lunge at Optimus but Sideswipe leapt in front of him and pushed him back down. The difference being that, he wasn't angered like Optimus, he was wearing a cool head and was determined to help break up the situation.

Optimus vented, his smokestacks belching out worrisome amounts of the black smog. "You are not the only one suffering from his loss Knockout," he finally spoke, his voice taught with barely restrained anger. He lifted a hand and pointed at him accusingly, "This is a war and if you wish to continue fighting then I need you to _grow up_." The last words seemed to cause him some form of grief, because his angered expression melted away. Ironhide stepped back from him, allowing his shoulders to slump forward. "A team will be sent out to collect the remains tomorrow, you are welcome to join," he added in a defeated tone. He turned and Ratchet moved to intercept him, but the Prime waved him off. They watched their leader disappear solemnly before sparing a glance for the seething mech on the ground and leaving for the autobot hangar.

The humans clumsily went back to work, giving the two Autobot's on the ground a wide berth as they did so. Knockout went limp and vented heavily. Sideswipe took this as a sign that he could move away from him, and did so.

Knockout remained motionless with his optics offlined. Ember dodged around a determined Cody and approached her friend slowly. She laid a hand on his shoulder and his optics came back online, although they were only half open, and turned to look at her. She stepped closer and rested a hand on his cheek with a sad smile.

"Prime got mad," he spoke, his voice soft. He remained still while around them people moved about giving the seen a surreal feel to it.

"I saw," she assured him calmly.

"Why?" he asked her in such an honestly confused tone that she pitied him.

She stroked the warm metal soothingly. "Because you hurt him," she almost called him honey but refrained for uttering the word, not wanting to belittle the mech who was probably thousands of years older than her. But she understood him, she knew he was feeling small and insignificant like a child because Prime had told him to grow up; she often had the same feeling. She had been thrust into a strange world after high school and she had realized it had been time for her to grow up, but she still felt robbed of her childhood. Ironhide had called him a youngling, was Knockout still a child in their standards?

"I don't understand, he's _the Prime_, how can I hurt him?" He was growing frustrated and Ember patted his cheek in an effort to calm him. It was amazing how the mech could seem so in control and knowing at one point but completely naïve at another. Why did that sound so familiar?

"Even heroes have the right to bleed Knockout, he has his past just like you have yours," she thoughtlessly quoted a song and sighed, looking directly into one large blue optic. "But he's not mad at you," she reassured, "he's too kind to be."

"Then who's he mad at?" The question reminded her of a similar one Knockout had asked several weeks ago and a suspicion began to grow inside of her. It sounded like he thought everyone was upset with him, first Beachbreak's doubt and now Prime's anger.

She didn't answer at first; instead she looked up, letting her eyes roam around the tarmac and the dark skies slowly. "I think he's mad at the war. That so many people have been hurt by it and so many little ones have had to become battle hardened warriors under his orders. Wouldn't it break your heart to know that?" She ended with her own question and waited for his response.

Around them, the others had turned away. Sideswipe's spark throbbed with sadness as it hopelessly reached out for its brother spark. He rubbed at his chest plating absently and looked down at Ember's friends, debating if he should take them back to the human quarters. _'Damn that femme and her comprehensive skills,'_ he thought wryly, _'she's too good.'_

Knockout vented again and lifted a clawed hand to rub at his face. He moved to sit up with his head held low so as not to meet anyone's eye. "How old are you Ember?" he asked, his voice still thick with emotion.

"21," she answered uncertainly. "Why, how old are you?" She asked with just a hint of humor in her voice. She moved so that she was standing a foot from his chest, looking up into his face.

He groaned, "It would take too long to put into Earth years." He stared down at her and his mouth quirked in an autobot smirk, "It's hard to think that you're more mature than I am when I've been alive far longer than you could even realize."

"That's because I'm awesome," she explained dryly.

Knockout snorted, "Yeah right."

Ember patted his chest, "It's ok to deny it for now, I understand your immature brain or computer or whatever is not ready to accept it." Now he laughed outright and Ember couldn't stop the grin that grew on her face. Happy that he had been pulled out of his slump, she sighed and rubbed at her stomach. "I'm going to get some food, why don't you come?"

"I guess, but I know you just want a ride," he transformed and rolled next to her.

"Not true! I'll walk," she said with a determined tone.

They were joined by the rest of the group, including Sideswipe, on their way across the airfield. And when they finally reached the cafeteria, the Autobots followed them in their holoforms. Ember laughed when Knockout's appeared next to her, a biker kid from the 50's, all leather and chains.

"You're going to have to apologize to him," she stated randomly as an afterthought while covering her steak in barbecue sauce.

"I know," the Autobot sighed and dropped his head onto the table with a groan.

…

Optimus Prime sat with his head hung low, running through memories while waves lapped at his pedes once more. The finules on the side of his head lowered back, signaling that he was not receiving transmissions at the moment.

The millennia old being was still, his optics glowing softly against the darkness that was night, gleaming metal seemed dulled by sadness. And he sighed. A very human sigh, his first actually. He understood now why they did it, it felt like his chest was tightening and sighing was the only way to relieve the pressure.

The war had been harsh on him, he wouldn't lie, but he _knew_ it was his place to seem just as strong and powerful as ever for his troops, otherwise, they would lose hope. Knockout seemed to have lost his faith in him already. He grimaced, regretting his earlier actions and allowing his feelings to get the better of him. He wouldn't blame the young mech if he didn't forgive him.

His mind wandered to the past, when things had been simpler, and paused. Of course it seemed simpler, he knew what happened and understood why because he had lived through it. The past would always seem simpler then, he realized, and the future would always be confusing. He felt frustration begin to build up inside of him and sighed again. He was beginning to lose hope himself, and how could a hopeless leader command an army that had made it this far on nothing _but_ hope. What was the point anymore?

"You know, they say every time you sigh a bit of happiness leaves you."

He turned his optics to the two men standing on the sand below. Epps and Lennox glanced at each other before moving closer.

And just like that, Optimus knew what the point of the war was, to save a planet teeming with billions of living people. With a reason, a fierce hope was rekindled, and he smiled down at the men kindly.

"I shall keep that in mind."

**A/N: Yeah, I have no clue what Ember and Knockout are anymore lol. I don't want it to be a romance because I want it to be innocent, if that makes sense. So maybe they're like more than friends but less than a couple and that's where they'll stay. IDK, what do you guys want? So, I hope you all know who Optimus' 'Her' is and if you don't then what the fudge are you reading Fanfics for, go watch G1! So what did you think of this chapter? R and R.**


	14. Heavy in your arms

**A/N: Sorry for the wait, my inspiration petered out for a bit there, but I think it's coming back now lol. There's definitely a lot of character development in this chapter, so enjoy **

"Ember, are you going to come with?"

Ember pulled the blanket up to her shoulder and sighed, she was lying on her bed early in the morning having not been able to sleep a wink and apparently Knockout figured that would be the case. His holoform was standing next to her bed, hands shoved into the pockets of an all too real leather jacket. She glanced at the digital clock on her nightstand and sighed, it was five o'clock. She stared at the red numbers, why couldn't they be green? She didn't like red lights anymore.

"Ember? Will you come with me?" He asked again, trying to pull her back to the subject.

"Where?" She asked tiredly. She looked away from the clock and rubbed her eyes, trying to pull herself out of her exhausted state. Even though he was speaking in a normal tone, the darkness of her room caused her to whisper. She glanced up at the dark figure, unable to see much in the pitch black.

"To get Beachbreak," he answered sullenly. He shifted back on one foot and looked away, as if he were listening to a faint voice.

"When?" Her muddled brain was unable to come up with more than one worded questions.

"Now," he answered quietly.

Ember lifted her arms out from under the blanket and dropped them back down with a sigh, dreading having to get up. But she quickly pushed those thoughts away and sat up in bed, pushing the hair out of her face as she did so. Knockout stepped back while she stood and stretched, mechanically reaching for the light on her nightstand.

"I'll be out in a second," she assured him. Watching as he nodded before turning to leave, shutting the door quietly behind himself. She pulled on fresh clothes and brushed her hair out absently, her thoughts occupied by other more depressing matters. She stuffed her cell phone into her pocket (even though she didn't really use it these days) and turned the light out.

Ember stepped out onto the smooth hallway floor and looked to her right, where Knockout stood in his alt mode with her helmet perched on his seat. Her booted feet tapped against the floor while all else was silent, everyone still being asleep. Would Lennox even let her go? She was supposed to be cleaning today. But then she scowled, why the heck did she care? Since when did she take orders so placidly? She picked the black helmet up and admired the shine before slipping it on and climbing onto the bike.

After last night, she was dazed and feeling the need to take note of everything no matter how small. Almost as if, like Beachbreak, she could leave and never come back, unable to see these things again. She shook her head and patted the bike comfortingly. His engine rumbled much more quietly than usual, but Ember didn't know if it was because he was still upset over the death of Beachbreak, or if he was just trying to keep it down so the rest of the NEST personnel could continue resting.

Knockout rolled down the hall, only passing one or two early risers before zooming out into the morning darkness. His engine blocked out the sound of the crickets as they passed groups of trees on their way to the airfield where they would be flown out to where Beachbreak's body was.

Knockout had been good friends with Beachbreak, Ember knew, he had never really talked about it but she had known just by the way the two conversed. They had been completely comfortable and at ease with the other. She sighed again, for what felt like the hundredth time that morning.

"What's wrong?" He asked casually, causing Ember to pause in stunned surprise. She had expected him to be sad, especially with how angry he had been last night. But now he was acting like it was just another day.

"I…" she trailed off. "Aren't you still upset about Beachbreak?" She finally asked. She gripped the handlebars a bit tighter, trying to reign in her frustration and confusion.

Knockout didn't answer right away. He seemed to be thinking of how best to explain it to a human. "I am upset, yes. But, I know that Beachbreak has joined the Well of the Allspark and that he is in a peaceful place. I'm sad that he's gone, but I know that he is happy." The explanation left Ember feeling breathless while her brain struggled to grasp what he was saying.

"Are you saying that he's in roboheaven?" She questioned the mech. The idea seemed ridiculous to her, but then they were so similar to humans, wouldn't it be natural for them to have religion too?

"No," Knockout began hesitantly, "I'm saying all that he was has been downloaded to the Allspark. It's different than here on Earth where humans believe their souls rise to heaven."

Ember's brow twitched and she shook her head. "A robot who happens to be an atheist, that doesn't sound all that odd," she muttered, causing Knockout to chuckle. "How did you guys meet anyways?"

"I really only ran into him a couple years ago on another planet. We were both taking cover from a Decepticon war ship. We teamed up, snuck on, and totally destroyed all control of the ship. It crashed on that planet and from there we traveled to Earth together." Knockout told her, a tone of humor in his voice. "I didn't get to know him for very long, but it was long enough, you know?"

"Yeah," Ember agreed somberly.

"I was upset that they hadn't brought his body back, he deserves to be taken care of properly," He added quietly. Ember said nothing, instead, allowing the sound of his engine to take over the silence. She felt a bit better at Beachbreak's death. But how exactly did he die? She voiced this question to Knockout, who had been briefed about the attack last night.

Optimus and the team had shown up in South Africa in the middle of the day, tracking the signals of three Decepticons. They were led deep into the brush before eventually stopping next to a very powerful river known as the Zambezi. Their eventual fight was pulled into the strong currents of the river that was even waist deep on Optimus himself, none of them realized what was happening until it was almost too late. The humans were able to grab Ratchet and Ironhide's attention, urging them to get out of the river; unfortunately, Optimus did not hear them when they called for him. In the confusion both he and Macerator were pushed over the edge of a waterfall. Macerator was caught by a gleeful Starscream while Optimus was left clinging to a rock. The fall would have been too great for him to come out in one piece and the flow was to powerful for him to climb up. It was Beachbreak's line that was military grade and specially made to support mass quantities of weight that allowed the other bots to pull Optimus up. Glad that they had managed to save their commanding officer, the group of Autobots jumped to the other side of the river to rejoin their human comrades. Beachbreak was too small to make the 40 foot jump and so was riding on Ironhide's shoulders when Starscream flew by, angered that his plan to defeat Prime had been ruined, and knocked the small mech from his perch and sent him over the falls. Sadly, they had not been able to save him.

Ember shook her head just as they rolled onto the airfield and slowed, approaching the small group hesitantly. There were a handful of humans and two other mechs present, one of which was Optimus Prime himself. She heard the engine falter before rolling forward towards the small cargo plane that would be caring them to Beachbreak.

Ember quirked a brow, knowing that he was trying to board the plane without speaking to the Prime. She rolled her eyes and, while he was still moving, lifted a leg and slid off of the bike hitting the ground on her feet. She was somewhat surprised that she had managed to pull it off, he had been going slow, but not slow enough to allow an average person to jump off like that (they would land on their ass). She pulled her helmet off and moved away.

Knockout braked hard and turned to face her somewhat offended that she had betrayed him. She was waltzing right up to Optimus!

"Hey Tim!" She greeted Optimus with a grin that split her face from ear to ear.

He glanced down before crouching to greet her. "Good morning Ember, I didn't think you would be joining the team today," he admitted. Beside him, Ironhide stood with his arms crossed in a casual stance, until he spotted Knockout and he tensed.

"Yeah, well, Knockout dragged me out here." Ember thumbed over her shoulder at the bike who seemed to perk up at being pointed out. He backed up and turned, moving towards the plane.

"Knockout," Optimus spoke, his voice sounding stern.

Knockout froze and vented. The following transformation was probably the slowest and most painful one Ember had ever witnessed, not because he was hurt but because she could tell he was honestly dreading the upcoming conversation. He stood tall and stepped around Ember to face the Prime.

Optimus stared at him almost blankly, with barely a hint of emotion, but Ironhide could tell he was holding back what he truly felt. Optimus was a leader, and as such, could not express all of the things he truly felt. But he knew that the Prime would fall to his knees and beg for forgiveness, if only he could.

Ember stepped back and moved over to the small gathering of human soldiers, among them was a grinning Cody. She would normally have been annoyed, but at the moment, his happy face was a given. She returned the favor with her own small smile, but her mind was preoccupied with thoughts of Knockout, worried about the outcome of his conversation with Optimus. Cody seemed to realize this because his grin turned into a reassuring smile and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"I must apologize for my actions Knockout, I did not think," Optimus intoned. He looked down in shame and vented, unable to look him in the optic.

Knockout clenched his fists and looked away as well, unable to bear the sight of his ashamed commander. Yet he remained silent, knowing that he would have more to say.

"Rashness is one of the qualities that have cost many a bots life in battle," he continued. He lifted his optics to Knockout, but for some reason they settled on a deep shimmering scar that marred his cheek, ruining the artfully crafted face. He moved to place his hand onto his shoulder but stopped, Knockout had flinched. Not in the way humans do when expecting to be hit, but in the way warriors do when they are fighting battle protocol to remain still. His spark faltered and his optics dimmed before he continued to drop his hand onto his shoulder.

"_**Ironhide, please, I need to speak with him alone,"**_ he transmitted to the weapons specialist.

Ironhide grunted and turned towards the humans and ushered them into the plane like a collie herded sheep. They tore their eyes away from the alien robot drama and grudgingly allowed Ironhide to lead them away, not wanting to face his by now famous wrath.

When he was sure the humans and any other Autobot was out of sight he grabbed Knockout's other shoulder and crouched down in front of him, drawing his optics to him automatically. He didn't miss the shocked expression the young mech struggled to hide. He inwardly chuckled, remembering the days when he had been young and just as easily surprised.

"I'm sorry!"

Optimus ate his words, figuratively speaking of course. Here he had been about to apologize again and give Knockout his condolences when Knockout apologized first. He cocked his head questioningly.

"For mentioning her, I didn't mean to, I wasn't thinking," Knockout continued. He dropped his head, focusing on the ground between him and Optimus.

Optimus remained quiet while he studied him curiously, he vented. "It is quite alright Knockout, I understand Beachbreak was a dear friend and you were angered that we did not bring his body back. But there were many lives in danger and we could not stop to retrieve him." Knockout lifted his head and looked him in the optic now, glad that he understood. "Ironhide will go with you now and Beachbreak will be laid to rest next to Jazz here on base," he patted one of his shoulders affectionately before climbing back to his feet.

Optimus ignored the raw pain emanating from his spark and stepped back and allowed Knockout to join the rest of the team on the plane. He watched him go before turning away and collapsing into himself as he transformed and dropped to the ground on his tires. The Peter built rolled back towards the Autobot hangar feeling better about last night, but his spark continued to ache for the rest of the day.

…

Rage and frustration grew as his body faltered; Unable to fight the icy tendrils that curled around him and slithered into his systems all too easily.

Move. Move. Move.

Frag this damnable organic planet and all its inhabitants.

He reached out for some form of purchase to haul himself out of the fissure he had fallen into just as he seized up and moved no more…

His mind raced with thoughts and scenarios that he could no longer put into action.

…

Knockout stepped onto the plane and Ironhide immediately fixed him with a quizzical look to which he answered with a smile. Ironhide nodded before sitting down against the wall for the flight back to South Africa. Salvage had offered to take his place, but Ironhide had insisted since he was stronger than the smaller mech turned truck.

Ember was seated next to Cody on the bench that ran along the side of the cargo plane with her legs pulled up and crossed Indian style and her helmet resting in her lap. She was talking to Cody animatedly, flinging her hands about as she described an event, while Cody listened and laughed.

Knockout sat down next to Ironhide, feeling like an enormous weight had been lifted from his chest.

"They really grow on you, don't they?" Ironhide spoke up several minutes after the plane had taken off, he was looking over at Ember and Cody who were still talking, albeit less excitedly.

"Yeah, it's kind of creepy how they do it so fast," Knockout replied thoughtfully.

Ironhide chuckled, "It is a bit disturbing how trusting some of them can be. But there are humans who do not trust at all." He glanced to Knockout next to him. He was looking down at his servos absently, his mind filled with thoughts that Ironhide's statement had brought on.

"They have such short life spans too," Knockout added solemnly.

"They do," Ironhide agreed. He scanned the plane, admiring each and every organic being before turning back to Knockout. "But they manage to get a lot done in that short amount of time."

"They're amazing," Knockout stated. He met Ironhide's optics with a determination, as if he were daring the senior warrior to go against him.

"They are, but it's amusing to think that they think _we're_ amazing," Ironhide chuckled and turned his optics away from Knockout, who was looking a little perplexed.

"I never really noticed that," he said. He glanced over at Ember and Cody again, seeing that they were both speaking quietly to each other now. He cocked his head curiously, seeing them in a whole new light. Then he wondered what they were talking about so quietly.

…..

"So then this guy came up from behind me and totally grabbed my ass, I was really pissed then and almost beat the living shit out of him, but then I thought 'eh the guys drunk, he doesn't know what he's doing' but ever since then I can never look at a guy the same way again."

"So that's why you're so strait that you're gay?" Ember asked dryly.

"Exactly!" Cody exclaimed in a hushed tone. "So I would appreciate it if you would stop talking to me about guys and their hotness levels."

"Pfft," she tried to stifle the peals of laughter that were fighting to escape. "You're such a homophobe," she pushed out between giggles.

Cody rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, "I knew you would laugh at me." He looked away and fell silent while Ember continued to fight against her chortles; she was obviously losing the battle. He had brought up the topic in hopes to lift her worried mood and he was glad that he had succeeded somewhat, but he knew the majority of her lifted mood was because Knockout had joined them and seemed to be ok. He sighed and looked down at his boots. "It's been a long while since I heard you laugh you know," he pointed out while picking at his camouflage pants.

Ember looked at him strangely before her eyes fell to the ground in thought. She did seem to be happier these days.

"Ever since you started school you…well…to put it frankly, you've been a royal pain in the ass," he chuckled and turned to look at her. She growled and smacked him in the head, only causing him to laugh more. "But now…now it's nice," he added with a smile that stayed on his face for the rest of the flight.

Ember crossed her arms and legs and turned away from him, pretending to be offended, but she was really biting her lip. He was at it again, trying to win her over with corny lines and sweet words. She snorted in contempt, but what worried her most was that she thought it was working.

"Man slut," she muttered darkly. Cody perked up and glanced at her with a raised brow.

"Heinous bitch," he responded almost automatically.

Ember smirked.

…

The plane landed at a small private airport that doubled as a NEST base with engines whining and tires squealing over concrete. When the small team rolled off of the loading ramp they were greeted by a couple of excited rookies who had yet to lay eyes on an Autobot, only hearing rumors about the ones who had supposedly been through the day before.

Knockout revved his engine, alerting the men to his presence and shooting in front of Ironhide who was stuck carrying the majority of the team. Ember waved back cheekily and laughed when Cody shook his head from the driver's seat. Normally, they would wait before heading out, but Optimus had insisted they be as quick as possible in the retrieval.

"I like my alt mode," Knockout answered Ember's questioning look. Although, how he could see her face was beyond her when she was wearing a helmet.

"I think you just like the attention," Ember teased causing Knockout to laugh and drive circles around the disgruntled mech. The rookies, new to the bots, were watching curiously.

Ember guessed it was because she was the easiest to reach, but one man gestured for her to come to him and Knockout complied. Slowing to a stop Ember pulled the helmet off to speak to him face to face. His was very tall, Ember noted, and very tan. His eyes were black and held a great deal of amusement in them if the crow's feet had anything to say about them. He smiled kindly.

"Hello, my name is Zeke. I understand that you are here to take home a fallen comrade?" he spoke. Behind them, Ironhide idled, waiting for them to finish up so they could leave.

"That's the plan," Ember agreed. The man was looking down at her feet; curiously, she followed his eyes and smirked. Knockout was supporting himself without a kickstand and she had yet to touch the ground.

"I take it this is an Autobot?" Zeke's eyebrows were both raised in amazement, he had never seen one before and was a bit surprised to find that they looked so ordinary.

"Nope, they're normal vehicles," she answered seriously. The man's face fell but Knockout revved his engine in annoyance, he was definitely an attention whore, Ember decided.

"Ember, don't do that," Ironhide scolded from behind her. He rolled forward, closer to the small group to assert his presence.

"Of course they're Autobots!" She amended with a chuckle. Zeke laughed and Ember was glad he had a good sense of humor after all. Otherwise, she would have insulted and very kind man with her blatant attitude.

"Well, I am going with the assumption that you will need a truck to collect your friend," he gestured at the full Ironhide who was practically overflowing with soldiers.

"Yes," Ironhide huffed and began rolling away, barely giving Zeke the chance to order his men to send out another truck with them. Two men obediently ran across the tarmac towards a few stray vehicles that looked a little worse for wear.

Ember saluted Zeke, who chuckled and saluted back, before pulling on her helmet. Knockout's form came to life once more and shot after Ironhide. It would take a while for them to reach the site, but Knockout was determined to make it a fun trip.

The hot sun beat down on them and warmed Ember despite the amount of wind that rushed past her. While the men who were piled into Ironhide chattered away, Ember and Knockout were also having a conversation, even though it was a difficult for a person to see. When they had to stop to allow a herd of cattle cross the road Ember had leant back and moved her hands as if she were arguing with someone. Ironhide was the only one that knew she was actually speaking to knockout via the hi-tech helmet; everyone else just that she was crazy.

"So you're telling me this thing can surf the web?" she asked in surprise.

"Well, verbally, Wheeljack didn't have enough time to make the visor act as a screen. So you're limited to what you can do." Knockout explained. His front tire shifted as he spoke. "You can do all kinds of things with that thing; phone calls, listen to music, scan for Decepticon spark signatures, all that good stuff."

Ember's mind latched onto only one of those activities, "I can listen to music? Sweet!" She turned her head to take in the form of Ironhide who was growing impatient with the extremely long line of cows that were still being ushered over the road by embarrassed herders. "Show me how to do it when we get back," she demanded absently, taking in the scenery around her. This was her first time out of the country and it was strange to be somewhere that seemed so utterly different but similar all at the same time.

"Sure," Knockout responded automatically. They fell silent when the last bull left the road and both Autobots shot forward, eager to be on their way. Ember fought the pull of the wind and leaned forward, she had noticed about a week after becoming friends with Knockout, it was thrilling to ride a motorcycle, even if she didn't always have control. It was the kind of thing her mom would bite her head off over. She remembered back when her brother had wanted a motorcycle, Mrs. Willows had promptly kicked him out of the house and said "If you want to ride one of those death traps, then you are not allowed in this house". He never did get one.

"So who's Jazz?" Ember asked suddenly.

Knockout faltered, but quickly corrected himself and ignored the curious ping from Ironhide. "Where'd you hear about him?" he sounded perplexed.

"When you were talking to Optimus," she explained with an impish grin, "I put the helmet back on."

Knockout was torn between being annoyed or amused. He knew the femme was a bit nosey but she had to listen in on his private conversations too? Had he been in his bipedal form he would have shook his head, but seeing as he wasn't, he settled with popping a wheelie and causing the girl to yelp and wrap her arms around the handle bars in fright. "Jazz was killed in the first battle here on Earth," Knockout said after several seconds of silence.

Ember made a face, a combination of sadness and disappointment, "What was he like?"

"You would have liked him. He liked Earth music, and he got along with everybody." Knockout avoided a pot hole and pulled ahead of Ironhide while he spoke, they were fast approaching the turn off point on the road. "He tried to take on Megatron and got torn in half," he finished with a human sigh.

"That sucks," Ember exclaimed under her breath. That was two Autobot deaths that she knew of, now she was certain they were nowhere near immortal. She looked down at the bike under her and scratched at a speck of dirt absently while in thought.

"Stop that," Knockout warned with a giggle.

Ember paused before realization dawned and she snickered. "You guys are ticklish?"

"No!" The defensive response was more than enough to prove her correct. Behind them, the truck driven by the two local rookies, swerved out of the way to avoid the motorcycle that was careening out of control.

A tickle fight with a cybertronian wasn't really a fare one, even when they were in their alt mode. All they had to do was redirect a bit of electricity and shock a human into submission. It was painful, but in no way harmful…as long as they are aware of exactly how much voltage a human could withstand.

When the group pulled off of the road and followed the path that had been cleared for them from yesterday, Ember rubbed at her butt tenderly with a deadly look on her face. "I'm so getting you back for that. My ass hurts because of you," she muttered darkly.

"I warned you," he replied smugly. They bumped over a rock and Ember winced.

"You said nothing about _shocking_ me, you jerk." She flinched when a rock was flung into the air from under Ironhide's tire while he rolled along next to them; it barely missed her shoulder which she was still wary of.

Around them was a thick forested area that was just barely penetrated by the sun. The humidity was extreme, causing the humans to wipe at their brows and glance up at the sky in hopes of some cloud cover, but they already had all the shade they could get. The ground was rocky and covered with large knobby roots that gave the human driven truck much trouble.

Knockout pulled ahead of the group and continued to follow the obvious trail of wreckage. When Ember could see glimpses of rushing water from between the trees he slowed and drew near, not quite trusting the ground next to the rushing river. He pulled to a stop next to a tree and waited for the others to catch up.

"You can get off now," he stated dryly. Ember remained where she was and leaned forward, examining the murky brown water with suspicion. She focused on one spot and waited; a pair of reptilian eyes appeared from beneath the surface and blinked lazily.

"Nope, I'm good right here," she assured nervously and pulled her feet up onto the seat to sit Indian style on the gravity defying bike.

Ironhide pulled to a stop next to them, allowing the men to climb out and moved towards the edge of the falls to set up grappling equipment. He transformed and stood with relief written plainly on his metallic face. Ember looked up at him with sympathy, but he couldn't see it through her black visor.

"What are you looking at femme?" he questioned gruffly. He loomed over her and Ember hunched her shoulders while gripping the handle bars tightly.

"You're badass canons," she muttered.

"What was that?" He leant closer suddenly and Ember groaned.

"Oh for the love of all things living and not," she dropped her helmet covered head onto the handlebars with a sigh. Knockout rumbled with amusement while Ironhide chuckled.

The soldiers were finishing their set up with the grappling gear and sent five men down over the edge to search for the body. When they spotted it, they would have Knockout come down using the military grade line and carry the body back to the ropes and tie up Beahbreak, and then Ironhide would haul him back up.

The plane would have been much simpler if NEST had provided and Osprey, but a helicopter like that would have drawn too much attention to the area. So they had to make do with what they had.

Last to arrive were the two men in the truck. They shut the engine off and climbed out slowly in awe at the hulking form of Ironhide. They walked past Ember and Knockout, heading for the edge where the grappling gear was set to get a closer look at Ironhide. Meanwhile, Cody approached the two casually.

"Come on Ember, get your butt off of Knockout," he instructed with a smirk.

Ember shook her head silently and pointed at the giant reptile that was slowly making its way towards the shore. Cody gazed at the crocodile and hefted the gun he was caring on his back in assurance.

"Wow, giant alien robots don't scare you but a lizard does?" he poked fun at her and only chortled when she crossed her arms, balancing on the bike.

"That's not a lizard," she informed, "that is a dinosaur."

"Steve Irwin wasn't afraid of them," Cody shot back.

"Steve Irwin's dead!" Ember threw her arms in the air in frustration. Beneath her Knockout listened to the conversation attentively, finding it very entertaining.

"He was killed by a _stingray_ not a crocodile," Cody countered casually and took a step towards the two while Ember fumed.

"That thing has the strongest bite in the world and a shit tone of sharp teeth and in case you haven't noticed we are not made of meta- What are you doing? Get away!" Cody grinned maliciously and pulled Ember off the bike easily and lifted her into his arms bridal style while she kicked and squirmed. "Put me down you asshole! If you don't I'll…" she faltered, unable to come up with a good enough threat. Cody quirked a brow and looked at her pointedly, waiting for her to finish. "I'll tell everybody what you did on your 21st birthday," she said it quietly, but Knockout perked up curiously before transforming and standing over the river curiously to look at the crocodile.

Cody actually paled but his eyebrows scrunched together in betrayal, "You wouldn't dare…"

"I would," Ember confirmed. She smirked when he regrettably let her down and dusted his hands off. Even though Ember thought she had won the little dispute, Cody had still accomplished what he had set out to do. He glanced over at Knockout before shrugging and moving towards the cliff edge where Ironhide was awaiting the word of the soldiers down below.

Ember flipped him the bird before spinning on her heel to face Knockout, who was attempting to poke at the offending reptile. She rubbed at her face and moved towards the mech in annoyance, she reached for his arm and pulled him away easily. She was aware that he was only coming away because he wanted to, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to move him and inch.

"You have a job to do mister," she stated sternly.

"And you do not miss," he responded with a smirk. He followed her over to the gathering of humans and cybertronian that was looking over the edge in awe. Knockout stepped up next to Ironhide and allowed his optics to take in the scene below him. He couldn't see the bottom of the falls, vapor and mist obscured it from the human eye and he was only able to measure the distance using a unique form of echolocation. It sent out a high pitched click that caused Ironhide to flinch and glower at him. Needless to say, there was no way to survive the fall, let alone for a bot as small as Beachbreak.

"They've found him," Ironhide declared. He turned to Knockout and clapped him on the shoulder supportively. "Be quick about it, Optimus wants us home."

Knockout nodded and moved to the edge, he reached down and gathered all five lines into his hand and pulled on them to test their strength, and finally jumped. The second he was over the edge he reached out a clawed servo and dug it deep into the cliff face before him to slow his decent. All the while Ember pondered Ironhide's use of the word 'home'. Was NEST really her home now? She stepped forward and peeked over the edge hesitantly; her foot kicked loose rocks away, sending them careening down the falls to mix with the water at the bottom. Ironhide pulled her back with a single finger and she looked up at him appreciatively. _'If this is my home now, I think I can deal with it,'_ she thought idly.

Knockout was surrounded on all sides by swirling mist, unable to see anything else. But all his other sensors were on high alert and he was able to find the position of the humans below him easily. He slid to a stop several feet above the rocks that were slippery and jagged and let go, landing perched atop a slightly less jagged rock.

"He's over here!" The man had to shout to be heard over the roar of the water. He was pointing behind him, further downstream from the falls. The men scampered across the rocks while Knockout grimly followed after them, determined to regain his friends body as quickly as possible. They turned behind a large boulder and Sideswipe lost all visual of them for half a click before he too turned and came face to face with a scene that pulled at his spark.

Beahbreak hadn't died immediately on impact it seemed, because it looked like he had pulled himself out of the current and up onto a reasonable flat slab of rock. The Earth around him was stained with his blue energon, the blood of an Autobot, and would most likely remain that way for decades to come. The blood was corrosive and had already eaten into the rock.

"Aw, Beachbreak," he mumbled and crouched down in front of the still form dejectedly. He reached out a hand and rubbed some of the grime off of his helm quietly while the men around him stared sadly at their fallen comrade. "You weren't meant for this war," he continued in a low tone. He lifted the dead mech into his arms and nodded curtly down at the humans, instructing them to lead the way back, even though he had memorized the route and could probably even chart an easier one.

He cradled him to his chest protectively while he moved, and when they reached the ropes he placed him on the ground carefully. He tied the ropes around his legs and body before sending Ironhide a ping. Back up top, the mech lifted the lines and pulled, hand over hand, on the rope. The body was lifted into the air and they all watched as it disappeared within the vapor.

Ember watched as Ironhide dragged the poor broken form over the cliff and hurried about untying him so he could send the ropes back over the edge for the remaining soldiers below. She stared at the black optics, the blue stains, and the limp hand that was resting on the ground nearest to her. It was strange…and horrible to see a person she had interacted with on more than one occasion lying dead in front of her. But there was no denying the coldness she felt when she reached out and placed a hand on his. She didn't feel sick to her stomach like she had when she had seen a man hit by a car and then be covered by a white sheet, but she felt saddened to the point that she found it hard to breath. A person's death would never truly hit home until they saw the body. Her eyes welled up with tears that she couldn't fight.

Cody moved towards her then and pulled her away, dragging her back into the line of trees where she couldn't see the body that was quickly being covered by a plastic tarp. He stopped in front of a particularly sturdy looking tree and set her down on the ground to lean back against it. She cried. And he could only comfort her with empty words that meant nothing unless they could bring back the dead. He moved to wrap his arms around her but she slithered out of his grasp and stopped across the dirt floor of the forest to pick up a good sized rock and hurled it violently into the river, scattering a small group of crocodiles. She picked up another and chucked it, this time with a scream of frustration.

She wished she had gotten to know Beachbreak better; wished she had shared more jokes with him other than that one stupid blonde joke that he didn't quite understand; and wished she had learned more about his past than what Knockout had told her after he was confirmed dead. He had been such a sweet mech, always careful around humans and apologizing when one got hurt even if it wasn't his fault. She was only glad that Knockout had made up with him after they fought, before he had left on that mission.

Cody watched her somberly, knowing there was nothing he could do to calm her down at the moment. He could only follow her with his eyes as she stormed across the ground kicking at rocks and punching at trees with all her might. He pulled her to a stop only when he was certain she had no more left in her and grabbed her wrists to judge the amount of damage done to her hands. They were swollen and bleeding, but nothing serious. He narrowed his eyes in disbelief when he looked closer; the edges of her open wounds were glowing faintly and slowly closing up. He said nothing aloud though, afraid to upset the already distraught woman.

Knockout appeared then, crouching in front of the two lightly and holding out the black helmet to Ember, who took it and shoved it over her head gratefully. With her tears now hidden behind tinted glass, she was able to give Cody a quick hug before turning to face the waiting motorcycle.

While Ember had been preoccupied, Ironhide and Knockout had loaded Beachbreak's body into the truck and made sure he was covered before turning away to prepare to leave. The soldiers had gathered their gear and thrown it into the trunk of a transformed Ironhide before following in after it.

Cody reluctantly left the two, heading for the black truck hurriedly. The sun was still high in the sky and if they left now they could probably make it back before nightfall.

Knockout waited for Ember to climb on before starting his engine and shooting off down their original path, not bothering to wait for Ironhide and the other truck to catch up. He skillfully avoided hazardous debris and shot out onto the road in record time, scattering a flock of birds and causing an old van to swerve out of the way.

"I'm sorry Ember, I didn't think it would affect you like that," he voiced his apology sadly.

"It's ok," her voice was thick with emotion, "It's just that time of the month."

"…oh," the way he said made it clear that 'that time of the month' was not a subject he enjoyed discussing.

Ember snorted and shook her head, all men, no matter the species, were the same.

The cracked and bleached road they drove on was surrounded by tall brown grass and blue sky, giving the scene a peaceful feel. Way behind them Ironhide pulled onto the road and was shortly followed by the human driven truck. He pulled back behind the white truck out of habit; protecting precious cargo.

Ember kept her eyes off of the rearview mirrors and looked straight ahead determinedly. Knockout sensed that the silence between them was becoming unbearable and quickly searched through the internet, found an internet radio website, and sent it to her helmet with song preferences already selected.

She flinched when music played directly into her ears but she sighed with relief. The sound of drums and screaming electric guitars would certainly boost her mood. Glad that she was once again feeling better, Knockout swerved across the empty road playfully, causing Ember to laugh.

"You wanna drive?" he asked slyly. When he spoke the volume of the music lowered.

It was an eventful ride back to the airstrip, and when everything was loaded into the cargo plane they bid Zeke and his men a hopeful goodbye. They sat in their previous spots and held quiet conversations while the plane soared through the sky, hurrying to return home.

"That was stupid driving you were doing back there kid. What if there had been other drivers on the road? Those stunts could have cost Ember's life." Ironhide reamed quietly so as not to disturb the humans.

Knockout blinked and said, "That wasn't me driving 'Hide."

Ironhide glanced over at the woman who was showing off her helmet to Cody. Now that he thought about it, the femme did have some serious thrill issues, she had angered him on more than one occasion and he suspected she was doing it on purpose. She would have to be disciplined carefully if he was going to allow her out on the field.

**A/N: This chapter seemed a little fast to me, and filled with a bunch of emotions that probably didn't need to be mentioned. Well, anyways, I also want to advertise my new blog :3 Tis on my profile, check it out if you want. R and R peeps!**


	15. I love it (I don't care)

One good night of sleep, that had been the one thing she had asked for when her boot first touched back down on Diego Garcia. But sadly, as she listened to the gravel crunching underneath her soles, an approaching figure was baring down on her with her ultimate doom. Lennox marched across the tarmac watching as the Autobots and other NEST operatives filed off the plane. His eyes lingered on the form of Ironhide as he rolled down the ramp carrying the prone form of Beachbreak covered in a black tarp. Ember's eyes lifted and not even the reassuring form of Knockout at her side could comfort her as the irritable looking captain stopped several feet in front of her.

She stopped. Knockout paused. Lennox waited.

It seemed like the world's most unique standoff was about to take place. As the three stared at one another the rest of NEST continued to walk around them as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening. Everyone was intent on finishing up the nights business and retiring to their beds and or resting places and cared little about anything other than their assigned tasks. And because of this one fact the three might as well have been standing in an empty room.

"You can stand there all night but it's not gonna change anything," Lennox crossed his arms and adopted a steadfast pose.

Knockout's attention was diverted when he noticed Ratchet approaching Ironhide on foot. He would no doubt be examining the body before allowing Beachbreak to be put to rest. Knockout crossed his arms impatiently and continued to observe both situations easily as his processors raced on a mile a minute. While Ember continued to have a staring contest with the ever impatient Lennox, Ratchet was lifting the tarp to peer under at the broken Beachbreak. Knockout glanced down at the female below him and nudged her shoulder with a single metal talon before moving off towards the two mechs with a determined stride. His optics never left the tarp covered corpse resting in Ironhide's truck bed.

Ember watched her newfound friend leave her side and swallowed; the idea of facing Lennox alone was a frightening one. But she understood that Knockout felt responsible for Beachbreak in a way and that he believed he needed to be there every step of the process until his late friend was laid in the ground next to Jazz. Feeling a bit inspired by his sudden act of maturity, Ember turned to look at the captain once more and squared her shoulders.

"Alright, what am I looking at Captain?" she asked as casually as she could. While the man uncrossed his arms and moved closer to her she was running through all her fouls over the past twenty-four hours. She had stopped halfway through her assigned chores in order to have a beach party, had not even bothered to continue with her chores the next day, and had run off with Knockout to retrieve a fallen comrade when she had barely any clearance at all to even set foot on Diego Garcia. They wouldn't send her home would they? That would be counterproductive in her opinion.

"From here on out every free moment of time you have will be spent in the kitchens," Lennox spoke in a commanding tone that automatically drew the attention of a few passing operatives. "You need to grow up and learn some responsibility. You're not living a normal life anymore, there is more at stake here than passing your classes and paying your rent, do you understand me?" As he continued his voice grew louder and sterner. Ember winced at every word and half expected him to point his finger at her and shame her. "There are lives, no, an entire planet depending on how we perform and I can't afford to have you gallivanting around like you own the place. Had this been a normal military operation you would be discharged."

Ember was the epitome of shame. Her shoulders were hunched, fists clenched, and she refused to meet the captain's gaze. "Yes 'sir," she grit her teeth and dropped her eyes down to the ground between them. "How long will I be in the kitchens?" she asked. The heavy silence that greeted her was more than enough to cow her.

"Until I've decided you've grown up," he all but snarled before turning and making his way back to the base.

Ember blanched. Since when had Lennox been such an angry person? She imagined all that rage could not have possibly stemmed from her actions alone. But what if they had? Her thoughts swirled round in her mind. Something just was not right all of a sudden. Something had changed about her since she had seen Beachbreak splayed out on the ground after he had been pulled over the cliff side. She felt more somber, less rash, and much more thoughtful. She imagined that had she confronted Lennox before the previous events she would have responded with anger and self-righteousness. Would this be a permanent change within her?

"It's too late for this kind of crap," she voiced her thoughts tiredly and vowed to breach the subject with a more knowledgeable person in the morning. She made her way slowly back to her quarters, intent on grabbing a good night's sleep, but as she laid down to close her eyes she could only think about her upcoming career in the kitchens.

…

Knockout stared down at his lost friend and let out a mournful whistle. It was the only sound of remorse that would escape him. It was true that Beachbreak was now in a better place but that did not stop the mech from feeling the loneliness. The small Autobot had been his first true friend since defecting and it hurt to know that he would never again speak to him.

He rested his servos on the metal berth that held Beachbreak and vented. How he hated the war, he wanted it to be over, and he wanted to tear apart every Decepticon he laid optics on.

A beam of light illuminated the dark room as the door to the medical bay slid open. Ratchet leaned on the doorway and crossed his arms. Knockout glanced over his should guards and said nothing. The silence that grew between the two was heavy and pregnant with sadness and lasted for what felt like hours.

"Come young spark, there is nothing more to be done," Ratchet spoke, displaying a surprising amount of kindness. He gestured for Knockout to join him and the mech reluctantly did as instructed. He said nothing of the fear that was growing within him, the fear of losing others dear to him, what if Ember got hurt in the war as well? What would he do then? As he passed Ratchet he hunched his shoulders and headed down the hall towards the exit. He needed to clear his head.

Ratchet watched him go with weary optics.

…

The next morning was strange, rather than getting up and making her way to training like she usually would, Ember was getting ready for a funeral. She brushed her teeth and did her makeup in the community bathroom before making her way back to her room where she pulled on the military uniform she had been able to acquire in time for the event. She stared at herself in the mirror and had a moment of sorrow. Once upon a time the only uniform she wore had been her server's apron and dress shirt. She felt guilty as soon as the thought crossed her mind; today was to be a day of mourning for Beachbreak, not for her life before she met the Autobots. It was time to make some changes, she decided as she pulled her hair into a tight bun, and it was definitely time to grow up.

The mood on base was one of sorrow and as every person made their way out to the burial site Ember had the chance to admire the entire NEST force. Everyone had shown up to mourn the passing of a dear friend, and it was not just the militant that showed their faces; everyone was there right down to the kitchen staff. Pride swelled within her and she was glad to be considered a part of NEST.

As the hundreds of people made their way up over the hills that led to the cliff where Jazz was already buried Ember took the time to examine the behemoth like figures that were shadowed by the rising sun. To her they looked like gods and the humans at their feet were there to worship them. The funny part was that she knew that not one of the Autobots would approve of that kind of thinking. They were so humble. She could just make out the form of Knockout standing next to a rather stiff looking Sideswipe and as she climbed the last of the hills she automatically found herself heading for his side. His optics shifted in her direction as she approached and he gave her a sad little smile that left her feeling broken hearted. The way Knockout had been talking the other day she had assumed he was not hurt by Beachbreak's passing but he seemed somber and as he gazed out at the ocean she could tell he was thinking deeply. Next to him, Sideswipe was glaring down at the ground. Clearly, where others felt sadness the younger bot felt only anger. Ember laid a hand on his leg to grab his attention and she met his gaze with concern. The silver mech attempted to smile but it looked more like a grimace before he returned his gaze to the ground.

Shelby found her way to Ember's side just as a general quiet consumed the gathering. It was going to be the Prime who spoke first, naturally, and as he moved over to stand at the head of the group he cast a saddened glance at Beachbreak's body which had already been lowered into the ground. Cody and Taylor joined the small group between Sideswipe and Knockout just as Optimus began to speak.

"Today we honor our fallen comrade," Optimus began and then faltered. There was a moment of confused silence in which everyone gazed at the leader in concern. Ratchet and Ironhide who were each standing off to the Prime's right shared a confused glance. The humans remained silent but began to grow restless, not knowing why the Prime had suddenly paused. Optimus took in each of his men and then at the humans below him, all of their piercing gazes followed his every move, and he vented. "I would normally honor all of Beachbreak's efforts in the war, but instead I would like to focus on another attribute of his that I found to be both troubling and wonderful."

Knockout and Sideswipe glanced at each other in confusion. Sideswipe seemed stunned and frustrated while Knockout looked utterly lost. Was it not customary to highlight a mech's valiant efforts in the war at his passing ceremony?

"Beachbreak was young," he said, "and because of this did not remember much of our home planet before it was consumed by war." Optimus lifted his optics to the sky. "As such, when he arrived on Earth he was amazed by what he found. He took in every miniscule detail and studied it and found it all to be beautiful."

Memories of the small bot ran through everyone's mind at that moment. He had often been found crouched over a tide pool or flower patch, observing the life. He had always been asking the humans questions, constantly collecting information, and promising to explore Earth when the war was over. He found particular joy in the vast human culture that fluxed and changed depending on the era and location. Ember herself had once found him watching Breakfast Club in the rec. room. He had been a curious little mech who was hungry to explore the planet that would be his new home.

"So I am glad that his resting place should be here where he can view the rising sun and it may warm his spark. Here he can rest easy knowing that this world, though filled with darkness of both natural and alien causes, will never fall prey to the darkness that ours did. Because although our planet was once beautiful it never did have a sun of its own."

That morning, while they all shared memories of a lost friend, not one war story was told. Instead, both bot and human alike only shared stories of happiness and wonder. And as they all finally left not one human face was devoid of tears but they were all smiling and every Autobot felt a lightness in their chassis that they could only describe as relief and hope. They had always lived their lives around the war that they had been fighting for millennia but on that day their Prime had subtly declared that that would be no longer.

…

The gathering dispersed and the four friends decided it would be a good time to get some lunch before they all had to get back to work. As they trudge through the grass surrounded by other humans and bots on their way back to the base Ember had some time to wipe at her eyes and enjoy her friend's company. Now that they were all back together again their immaturity was once again in full swing.

"This is not okay!" Shelby exclaimed to Ember and Cody. Ahead of the three Taylor was walking with her newfound "friend" Kent and they were chatting quietly. "She is not allowed to be dating when I'm single."

"Since when?" Cody asked with a laugh. He was enjoying the familiar mood as well and it helped to steady his nerves. Ever since Ember's breakdown in Africa he had been on edge.

"Since ninth grade when we agreed on it obviously," Shelby answered while throwing her hands in the air in exasperation.

"Ember."

Ember's laughter died in her throat and she looked over her shoulder at the approaching figure of Ratchet. The medic was struggling to make his way towards her while maneuvering through the meandering humans and the look of frustration on his face was enough to make her chuckle. The small group paused and Cody glanced at Ember before ushering the rest of them towards the base.

"Meet us at the dining hall," Cody explained when Ember gave him a questioning look.

"The call of food too great to ignore for thirty seconds?" Ember quirked a brow and Cody only grinned in response before turning away and following after the others. She spun on her heel and looked up into the stern optics of Ratchet. While she had been distracted he had managed to close the distance between them.

"I would like to run some scans on you and do some blood work as soon as possible," Ratchet said. He crouched down in order to be more at eye level.

Ember stared at him blankly, not ten minutes after the funeral and he was already getting back to work. Although, she supposed all the Autobots were of the same mind because Optimus was already at base and Lennox could be seen next to him obviously discussing important matters. "Can it wait till after lunch?" she asked. She had not had a decent chance to simply speak to her friends in a few days and she was determined to be with them as much as possible.

Ratchet vented, "I suppose it would be best for you to eat before I draw blood." He could clearly see she wanted to be with her comrades. "But make it quick," he warned.

Ember gave him a thumbs up before turning and jogging the rest of the way to base. She figured Ratchet just wanted to make sure she was okay and that her shoulder had healed nicely. Her boots made contact with solid concrete once more and she trotted off to the dining hall feeling a little bit lighter than she had before the funeral. She actually smiled.

Ember took a bite out of her sandwich and listened as the human form of Knockout and Cody argued about the vanity of the two species. Across from her Shelby was watching the two with a bored expression while she absently twirled her fork around in her pasta.

"You guys are ridiculous. Every morning your femmes put on pounds of minerals to cover nonexistent blemishes and do their hair up in funky ways that they think make them look more appealing." Knockout pulled on Ember's arm and gestured at her heavily lined eyes and hair. She laughed and pushed the staticky form off of her.

"All I'm saying is that if you guys were solely focusing on necessity when you chose your alt forms there would be way more beat up old Hondas and cutesy Mazdas than there are sports cars and flashy paint jobs" Cody defended calmly.

"He's got a point," Shelby commented dryly.

"What? Oh come on!" Knockout glowered at the two playfully and Ember patted his should.

"Dude, it's okay, we totally understand the need to look badass while in combat." She finished the rest of her fruit juice while Knockout shook his head.

"You just got told," Shelby pointed out. She took a bite of her pasta for the first time since they had gotten onto the topic.

"At least I have a pretty face," Knockout shot back.

"What?!" Shelby squawked. Knockout was practically in tears with laughter. "Yeah, well, Taylor's face!"

"What?" Taylor turned away from Kent to look at the three laughing figures and Shelby's irritated face.

"That didn't even make sense," Ember sputtered through her laughter.

"Neither does Taylor's face," Shelby muttered darkly.

Needless to say, when Ember left to meet up with Ratchet in the med bay, she was feeling thoroughly refreshed. They had all laughed for what felt like an hour straight and, just like the saying; laughter really had proved to be the best medicine for the somber atmosphere. She traveled down the busy hallways happily and she was glad to hear the sound of a booming motorcycle as it pulled up next to her. Knockout stopped just long enough for the girl to climb on before revving his engine and shooting off down the hallway. It was so strange to be on a vehicle indoors.

When the two finally pulled into the med. bay, Ratchet was standing in front of a large computer screen and upon their entrance he turned and pointed to the large medical berth that had previously held Beachbreak's body.

Ember climbed off of Knockout just as he began to transform. The Autobot gazed at the berth wearily before lifting Ember from the ground carefully and placing her on it. The woman smiled up at the Autobot reassuringly and the thoughtful frown he had been wearing was replaced with a playful smirk. A careful talon brushed a strand of messy hair out of her face.

"Eh hem."

Knockout rolled his optics and moved aside so Ratchet could begin his examination. Ember chuckled at his antics as well as Ratchets sour expression. "You guys are just too much," she said.

"Yes well, after years of putting up with all these whiney mechs you acquire a permanent foul disposition," Ratchet muttered while performing the average checkup. Ember felt like she was in a doctor's office while the medic shined a light in her eyes and instructed her to say 'aw'. Satisfied with her basic health, Ratchet pulled a syringe from his handy dandy subspace pocket and carefully cleaned an area of her arm while Knockout watched curiously.

"What are you doing?" he asked the medic.

Ratchet vented and glanced at the other mech before slipping the needle into Embers arm, "I'm drawing blood to test."

Ember winced, "I better get a lollipop after this."

Knockout looked concerned but he said nothing as the medic removed the needle and turned away. He placed it in front of the computer and fussed about the keyboard. Ember was not up high enough to see what the medic was doing and Knockout was looking at the small line of blood that rolled down Ember's arm. The girl seemed to take no notice and was instead examining her split ends. Could she be anymore clueless?

"Ember, your arm is bleeding." Knockout watched as the girl glanced up at him then down at the line of blood that somehow managed to leak out from beneath the bandage that had been placed over the small wound. She grimaced and wiped her arm on her pants carelessly. Knockout frowned.

"Knockout, I need to discuss a few things with Ember," Ratchet dismissed the younger mech.

Knockout's frown deepened but he regretfully exited the medical bay. Ember watched him go apologetically before turning her eyes towards Ratchet worriedly. What would he need to talk to her about in private? Her heart began pounding in fear and the medic shook his head.

"It is nothing life threatening femme, Knockout is just unpredictable, I do not want him getting upset," Ratchet assured her before moving away from the computer. "Last night when you arrived back on base a rather nervous young man who I believe to be a friend of yours approached me about an oddity he had noticed."

"Cody?" Ember questioned.

Ratchet nodded and continued, "He claimed that yesterday you had hurt yourself and something strange happened." The medic moved over towards the berth and reached for Ember's arm. He pulled the bandage away to reveal a soft golden light radiating from the small pinprick of light where the needle had penetrated earlier. "It is nothing too unusual considering I injected you with a dose of nanobots not two weeks ago, however, I did not expect them to still be active," he explained.

Ember listened avidly as the Autobot medic moved about the bay and continued to explain her situation, now that her fear had subsided she found herself generally curious. Her eyes returned to the glowing wound.

"All Autobots and Decepticons alike have nanobots in their systems, they act like antibodies and help to protect and heal us. When one of us is injured it is not unusual to administer an extra dosage of nanobots to help speed up the process. However, these new nanos are not natural and so they often disintegrate within a few days. Constant exposure to Energon breaks them apart. What I failed to realize was that human blood is less toxic than Energon and therefore would not destroy the nanos." Ratchet turned back to the computer and ran some more tests as he spoke, "The nanos are just continuing to do their job."

Ember poked at her arm thoughtfully, "How long will they last in me?"

"Most likely forever," Ratchet stated simply.

"So will I live forever?" she questioned the mech.

"No," Ratchet snorted, "but neither you or any of the other operatives I injected will be dying of disease any time soon."

Ember was silent as the meaning of that statement blossomed in her mind and she stared at the mech in front of her who still had his back to her. He seemed to have lost interest in the conversation and was once more examining the computer in front of him.

"So why don't you help a species out here?" she questioned. If the nanos acted as a cure-all and helped to destroy disease and repair injuries then they might possibly be able to fight cancer or even AIDS. The human race could finally stop worrying so much about sickness and focus more on exploration and peace.

"Sadly, I do not have the resources here on Earth or the time." Ratchet let out a very human like sigh and placed some spare parts he had been fiddling with next to his computer. "If it were not for the war…" he trailed off but Ember understood and she nodded. She respected the medic and was finding herself liking him more and more. He reminded her of her father in so many ways, eager to help others, bad temper, and a bit rough around the edges. Oh yeah, she knew his type.

Her thoughts drifted to her family as she left the med bay. She had not talked to any of them since she had called her mother weeks ago with the lame excuse that she was going to study abroad in Paris. At least it felt like weeks, how long had it actually been?

Knockout was nowhere to be found so she assumed he had gone ahead to meet up with Ironhide for training. She took off down the hall in a sudden rush of excitement not quit understanding why, maybe she was just glad to get back into a routine or even her situation in general. She was working with giant metal aliens to save the world and she would one day play a big part in it. She scampered outside through a human sized door and her boots crunched over gravel, she found the sound oddly satisfying. Ahead of her she could see the two waiting outside of the rec room patiently, well, Ironhide was patient while Knockout was all jittery. She slid to a stop in front of the two with her hands on her hips and her feet spread. "Let's get to it."

Training was interesting that day, the weapons specialist had them run the obstacle course again while he watched and gave pointers over comm. from the center of the course. They must have completed the first seven levels before Ironhide decided they could stop. As they progressed the course had involved a lot more effort on Embers' part. At certain points Knockout would have to stop and Ember would have to go on ahead through tunnels and over pitfalls to reach a lever that would drop a wall to allow the mech through. Eventually there would be weapon fire involved, Ironhide had warned.

Ember was convinced he was trying to kill her.

"Where can I find a phone?" she had asked while using a towel to dry herself off after practically sweating buckets. Knockout was sitting on his aft with fans whirring to cool off his systems. Knockout moved a talon and flicked the black helmet towards her, it rolled haphazardly in her general direction and Ember pursed her lips. "I forgot about that," she admitted, irritated by her own air-headedness, she hated to seem unintelligent around the bots.

"Who are you going to call?" Knockout asked. He sounded exhausted to her and she vaguely wondered if he was taking care of himself, she did not know what a healthy Autobot needed, but he seemed more winded than he usually would after a bit of training.

"Ghostbusters," she answered thoughtlessly. "Are you okay?"

The mech sat forward and rested his servos in his lap before answering, "Just running low on energon."

"Hmm," she hummed suspiciously before lifting the helmet from the ground. "I'm going to call my mom, make sure everything is okay with the family and …stuff," she finished lamely.

Knockout stared at her in amusement.

"We should work on communication," Ember declared.

"Yup," Knockout agreed before transforming and rolling off in the direction of the Autobot bunker to refuel.

Ember watched him go before pulling the helment on over her head. It seemed that they were both hiding things and not telling the whole truth. But the bot had agreed with her on her statement which made her wonder if he was just having trouble opening up to her. It seemed like they both wanted to trust each other one hundred percent yet something was causing them to both pull back at the last second. As Ember flicked through her contact list that had been transferred to the helmet long ago she vowed to get to the bottom of the situation…and to get her cellphone back from the evil witch woman.

She stepped outside and headed for the beach. In her ear the phone line rang while she shuffled across base, kicking at stones, and admiring the feel of the sun on her back. She stared at the water, glittering in the sunlight, and watched the birds scuttle across the sand in search for food.

"Hello?"

"Hi mom."

Ember listened to her mom chatter on about life back at home; how big her niece and nephew were getting, what the dog ate by accident, how her father got a raise. It all sounded so simple and minuscule compared to what she had been doing; training with the Autobots, running for her life, dealing with Taylor flirting. She snorted and rolled her eyes.

"So how are you, sweat pea? Anything interesting on your end? Cute French boys by any chance?" Her mother asked one after the other and Ember could not suppress the giggle that bubbled up from her throat.

"No!" she exclaimed. "But I did get into a bit of trouble with the head of the program."

"How'd you manage that?" Her mother questioned in exasperation. Ember could picture her rolling her eyes and throwing her arms up in the air with frustration.

"I ignored curfew and didn't do some of my chores. Now I'm on kitchen duty until I 'grow up'", Ember said. She kicked at a seashell absently while her mother groaned.

"Good luck to him," she replied with a snort.

"Hey!" Ember scowled at the sand in betrayal. Her mother only laughed.

"I'm only kidding," she said, "you can grow up whenever you want. Just stop playing around so much, make them think you've become all responsible and goof off on your own time."

"You give very adult like advice, mother," Ember replied with sarcasm.

"Yeah, well, screw grownups," she said.

They continued to talk for another five minutes and only hung up when Ember had promised she would bring home some souvenirs for everybody. Once the line was once more silent Ember took off the helmet and took a deep breath of the refreshing sea breeze. She felt even lighter than she had this morning. In fact, if it weren't for the awkwardness between her and Knockout all of a sudden, she was sure she would float away. It was as if she knew everything would work out eventually, that she was working towards something, and that she had loved ones with her and supporting her. The feeling urged her to train harder, study more, and experience as much as she could while on the Diego Garcia base.

Now to work in the kitchens.

She groaned.

…

Cody hesitantly made his way down the large hall. Only a few humans were traversing the area and as light spilled in through an open hangar door, he could safely assume why. This was where the more solitary mechs resided…or the suicidal. It was a rarely used area that had found itself occupied first by Ratchet who was soon followed by Knockout and finally Wheeljack. Knockout himself liked the area because the two geniuses were close at hand and if they were to suddenly have a breakthrough in weaponry or technology he would be the first to know. Yes, secretly, he was a 'nerd' as Ember would put it. And although the mech tried to hide his inquisitiveness the majority of the humans had already caught on.

His boots were the only sound heard in the hall and he was lulled into a sense of calm.

Then something exploded and part of the wall next to him fell away, sending rubble into the air and across the smooth cement floor. The event happened so quickly that the human did not even have time to react and found himself standing in the dust blinking and coughing, waving his hand in the air in an attempt to clear it.

"WHAT DID YOU DO?!"

The shout came from the room behind the wall and Cody leaned in through the new opening and took in the sight of the medical bot and the scientist arguing over a hunk of metal, scorch marks decorating both of their figures. Not wanting to get caught spying, he quickly scampered past and moved towards a door at the end of the hall. As he approached the door slid open and he paused, allowing his eyes to adjust. The room was dark and foreboding compared to the bright hallway.

A pair of cyan optics eyed him from the darkness.

"Need something?"

Cody attempted to pinpoint the accent and decided it was vaguely Brooklyn, "Yeah, actually I kind of wanted to talk to you about something." He stepped into the room, allowing the door to slide shut behind him, and blinked. It had at first seemed pitch black but his eyes were beginning to adjust and he could just begin to make out the form of Knockout. The Autobot seemed to perk up in interest.

"What of?" He moved. The bot had originally been sitting on a concrete slab roughly seven feet off the ground, but now he slid to the ground so the two could speak on the same level.

"It's about Ember," Cody explained.

"What about her?" he asked curiously. He did not understand why the human was so hesitant and nervous. Was there something wrong with the femme?

"It's nothing really, I'm just worried about her is all," he admitted quietly. He stared down at the toes of his boots awkwardly, feeling the heavy gaze of the Autobot on his shoulders.

"I see." He did not really understand exactly what had the human so worried but there were a number of causes he could come up with off the top of his head therefore he could understand. He responded carefully and with few words, realizing that this is what the humans considered venting.

"It's just that we're all caught up in this war now and she's never been in a war before, and she's such an amazing person and I don't want her to get hurt or become cold, plus all that freaky stuff with those nanobots and her healing super quickly," the soldier rambled on for a while before he came to a stop with a sigh. "I think she's in way over her head here so I need you…" he trailed off in frustration and Knockout could only quirk an optic ridge. "I need you to take care of her."

The bot vented and dropped his optics to his servos in his lap. His clawed hands were unmistakably of Decepticon origin and he wondered briefly if the human would still trust him knowing where he had come from. What he had been. He vented and lifted his optics to the human in front of him and examined his eyes. They were opened wide in an automatic attempt to absorb more light in the darkness, but they revealed both desperation and determination. He decided that knowing this human, he probably would still trust him. He needed someone to look after his friend because he understood there was little he could do for her when they were all caught up in a Cybertronian war. The fact that the boy's thoughts echoed his very own from earlier were not lost on him either.

Knockout shifted and the movement caused Cody to flinch.

"Of course, I plan on taking care of to the best of my abilities. She is my partner after all." He sounded surprisingly formal which caused Cody to blink in confusion before nodding curtly.

"Good," he said. Now that his worries were slightly abated he had nothing further to discuss with the bot but he was not quite sure on how to remove himself from the conversation. He cleared his throat. "So, uh…how 'bout them Rays?"

…

Ember sighed, finally having a chance to relax after the ridiculously long day. She had gone to a funeral, trained, then worked in the kitchens for what felt like days even though it had only been a handful of hours. With the memory of Beachbreak in the back of her mind she had helped to prep food, washed dishes, and restocked the beverage stations and lunch line. In all honesty she had done everything but actually cook. She had been yelled at, ordered around, insulted, and someone had even grabbed her ass at one point. Luckily for her she had a lot of experience from working in a restaurant and the general vibe was easy to slide back into. You had to be gruff, tough, and a bit of a bitch to get the job done…all the while wearing a smile.

Now she had the opportunity to wash off all the dirt and grime she had acquired from training and working in the kitchen.

She turned the nozzle on the shower and sighed, watching as the water hit the tiled floor of the washroom; luckily for her that the majority of the base was in bed already. Defying curfew once more aside, she was thoroughly excited for her shower. The water grew hot, filling the room with clouds of steam, before she decided it was safe to set her towel on the half wall next to her and stepped into the water.

She allowed her thoughts to wander while she washed. Scrubbing at her hair and skin in an effort to get rid of the grimy film she could feel on her. She hummed lightly to fill the silence then paused.

She had not exactly heard something, but there was a general presence in the room that she could not deny. She turned her head slowly to glance over her shoulder and froze.

An older man stood in the doorway, staring at her avidly. He wore a grey track suit and glasses and his hair was a ruffled brown mess atop his head.

She said nothing and neither did he. They only gazed at each other blankly.

Then from outside the door came a muffled voice, "Wheeljack, what are you doing outside the female's washroom?"

Ember's eye twitched.

The holoform opened his mouth as if he were about to speak.

Ember reached for the bottle of shampoo and launched it at the man with a snarl and a shout, "GET OUT OF HERE YOU DISGUSTING PERV!"

The holoform disappeared and there was a ruckus outside, it sounded like two bots tussling along with some mild cursing, before there was silence once more.

Ember sighed and stared down at her toes, wiggling them in the small puddle of water, before continuing to scrub herself clean. No point in letting it get to her now, she had a feeling she would be dealing with numerous similar occurrences in the future.

I need to do my nails, she thought absently.

A/N: So there you have it. I apologize for any mistakes and if the writing style seems different, it's been a couple of years after all. Please tell me what you think.

…

"Decept-a-creep."

Ember snorted and Knockout watched the human as she ate her dinner. She was obviously tired from the day's events yet she was still up and running.

"I still like Megatwat the best," Ember stated in amusement.

"That is a good one," Knockout agreed.

The rest of the cafeteria was empty except for a handful of staff who were murmuring quietly amongst themselves.

Ember giggled and it grabbed his attention, curiously he cocked his head, "What?"

"Have they ever used Autoboob?" she asked through her laughter.

"What?!" Knockout outright laughed, drawing the rest of the rooms attention for a brief moment.

"Die you Autoboobs!" Ember cried, impersonating a Decepticon to the best of her ability.


	16. AN

Give me two weeks…


End file.
